Triumvirate
by Stayce
Summary: Haunted by strange dreams, both Buffy and Faith find themselves caught up in an ancient debt, as all around them sinister plots of destruction and chaos are set in motion. Third in the King Trilogy. Winner of the His Girl Award for best crossover
1. Prologue: Reflections

DISCLAIMER: None of the characters from the TV shows of BTVS or ATS are my property. They belong to Joss and whoever else has claim to the intellectual property. This is all in a bit of fun, so please don't sue me or abuse me (as if anyone who cares is actually reading this).

AUTHORS NOTE: This is third story in my King Trilogy, which I've recently made an attempt to truly tidy up a little. I've proof read the thing for what seems like hundreds of times so spelling mistakes, typos and bad grammar in this repost should be pretty thin on the ground now. As for those of you who've never read any of these stories (a fair few I assume) and can't be bothered to read the previous ones before leaping into Triumvirate, I've included a recap of the previous two stories at the end of this prologue. Just so you all know, the setting for Triumvirate is early series six of Buffy, and early series three of Angel. Hope you all enjoy.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER

TRIUMVIRATE

PART THREE IN THE KING TRILOGY

**_"_**_When I fell from Grace,_

_I never realized,_

_How deep the flood was around me."_

Queensryche

_"I don't believe in Love_

_I never have, I never will._

_I don't believe in Love._

_It's never worth the pain that you feel."_

Queensryche

_"Call no man happy, until he is dead."_

Histories

Herodotus

Prologue

Reflections

_The desert was calm, peaceful and serene around them, as Buffy and Faith strolled unhurriedly over the crunching sands. The two Slayers moved with a confident ease over the dunes that rose and fell around them. Even the wind that tugged sands in great shifting clouds over the horizon failed to touch them. Clouds drifted lazily across the sky, as if they had all the time in the world to get where they were headed. Slowly the sun moved across the sky, its burning rays driving them into the shade of the dunes in an effort to escape the all-encompassing heat. _

_"It's so hot." Said Buffy plainly. _

_"Like the fires of hell." Faith added. Buffy glanced at her. _

_"Better get used to it." She said. "After all, Heaven doesn't want you." Faith looked up, the light from the sun blinding her. _

_"Who'd want it?" she asked raising her hand to shield her eyes from the blazing rays. "It's too bright and too high." She scuffed the sand with the toe of her boot. _

_"The higher you climb, the further you have to fall." She finished. Buffy followed her gaze, staring up at the sky. Unlike Faith she didn't shield her eyes. _

_"We all fall sooner or later." She said moving out from the shadows of the dune. "Only the truly righteous are lent wings upon which they can save themselves."_

_"While the rest of us keep on reaching." Said Faith bitterly. _

_"At least you're doing better than him." Said Buffy pointing out across the sands to where a man was stood, he too staring toward the sky. Slowly the small blonde Slayer began to make her way across the sand into the shimmering heat haze of the desert. Faith stood in the shadow for a moment, fearing to step out into the glare of the sun. _

_"Buffy!" she shouted. _

_"Come on Faith!" Buffy replied. "He needs our help!" Faith stepped out of the shadows, the heat immediately beginning to bake her. Slowly, she picked her way over the sands, following Buffy's footsteps. Each footstep was more painstaking than the last under the baking sun. _

_As they drew nearer, the two Slayers could see the man more clearly. A long ponytail of almost black hair hung to his waist. He was broad, tall and stood with a regal air that was hard to imitate. His head was tipped back to stare up at the sky, his mouth working in silent, muttering sentences. The two Slayers stood and watched as he began to sink into the sand. _

_"I know you." Said Buffy watching as the man's shins disappeared into the sand. He turned to stare at her with despairing eyes. _

_"Help me." He said raising his arms pleadingly toward them. "She's waiting for me. She's waited so long for me, and I'm worried I'll never reach her. I've been trying for so long. Please help me out of the this." The sand was already past his knees. Faith darted forward, mopping at the sweat that now poured from her brow with her arm. _

_"I'll help you." She said, reaching out for his grasping hands, ignoring the wisps of smoke that were beginning to curl up from her skin. "Buffy will help you too." She glanced back over her shoulder. The other Slayer simply stood and watched, arms folded. _

_"It's not my place to help." Said Buffy calmly. "I've done my part for him." Faith grasped at the man's arms, wincing as his fingers closed around her burning skin._

_"Please don't let go." The man begged her as the sand crept up past his waist. "She's waiting for me." _

_"You'll find her." Said Faith gritting her teeth with effort and heaving. The man continued to sink and she could feel the sun burning past her skin. _

_"Buffy!" she cried out. "We need your help!" She turned to watch as a pair of birdlike wings unfolded from the other Slayer's back. _

_"Spread your wings Faith." She said with a happy smile. _

_"I can't spread my wings!" Faith yelled. "I don't have them." Buffy frowned at her. _

_"We all have wings Faith." She said scolding the other Slayer. "Spread them and fly." With a beat of her own immaculate feathers, Buffy launched herself into the air, spiralling up through the sky toward the heavens. _

_"Please help me." The man continued to beg as the sand began to close over his shoulders. "Please, I'm begging you!" _

_"I'm trying!" Faith grunted as the sand tugged at him. "I'm not strong enough!" she said. _

_"You should spread your wings!" she said desperately heaving at him as her skin boiled and blistered in the heat. _

_"They burned away in the light." The man said just before the sand closed over his mouth. Faith gave one final tug, before his hand slipped from hers, raking away her burning flesh as it went. She screamed in agony, tumbling backward to watch in horror as the hand disappeared beneath the shifting sands. _

_Her skin burned under the sun, blackening and hissing, cracking and oozing as she tried to flee the suns burning light. The heat was merciless, assaulting her, driving her to her knees in the sand. With a final gasp, Faith opened her mouth to scream as she burst into flames._

*****

Faith awoke with a start, tangled in her sweat drenched regulation prison sheets. Slowly she clambered out of her bed and made her way over to the washbasin. Outside her small cell's window she could hear birds chirping the song of early morning. It wasn't often you heard bird song in the heart of LA. With a slight grunt she twisted the tap until it ran cold water into the basin. Reaching down she cupped her hands to collect the chilly clear liquid, before splashing it in her face. The sweat vanished in an instant and she suddenly felt incredibly refreshed. 

She stared down at her reflection in the gathering pool of water at the bottom of the sink. She still didn't look it. Large dark bags hung beneath her eyes, mute testament to her haunted state of mind. Her thick brown hair hung in matted locks down the sides of her face, and her skin was pale and sallow. For some reason she was relieved. For the briefest of moments she'd expected her skin to be black and charred.

"That was one fun filled dream." She said, her rippling reflection staring blankly back at her. She gave a groan and stretched. She hated it when dreams were that vivid. She didn't have them that often and when she did they unnerved her. She was about to turn away when an image of the man from her dream appeared in the water staring darkly up at her. 

"You think Heaven wants you Slayer?" The man's reflection hissed. Faith felt anger brim up inside her. She was trying! Gods knew she was trying, and now she was being taunted by reflections of strange men in her washbasin. A few years ago that would have been enough to put her into therapy. These days it just made her angry.

"What did you say!" she yelled, plunging her hands into the water, seeking a neck to throttle. Already the reflection of the man was fading. "I'm trying!" she cried at the water desperately, her anger fading into anguish. "I'm trying!" she felt tears begin to slide down her cheeks as she clawed desperately at the water.

"I'm trying, but I'm not strong enough!" she wept feeling her legs give out from under her. "I'll never be strong enough!" she collapsed into a heap beneath the washbasin, weeping tiredly. She lay there for minutes on end, sobbing dejectedly.  

She jumped as a loud banging sounded at the steel door of her cell, bringing her quickly out of her sobbing fit.

"Faith?" came the guard's voice. "Faith, you in there?"

"Nope." Faith said, annoyed at being caught unawares. She scrubbed the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand and clambered to her feet. "Out in the yard doing push ups as we speak. Please leave a message after the beep." 

"Very funny wise ass." The guard muttered. 

"I try." She replied. The sliding peep hatch clanged loudly open. A pair of brown eyes appeared leering in at her. 

"Well stop trying and get your shit together. You got a visitor waiting and we wouldn't want to disappoint her now would we." Faith shrugged, hoping the guard hadn't heard her sobbing minutes earlier

"Normally I couldn't give a crap, but for you lover," she smiled coyly at the slit and wiggled her hips, "anything." The eyes narrowed. 

"Just shut your hole and get dressed." The smile vanished from Faith's face as the slit slammed shut. Who wanted to see her and why? The only visitor she got these days was Angel, and even he hadn't been around that much recently. She let out a long sigh. She hoped there was a good reason and that he hadn't just given up on her. She was used to being snubbed by people, her dad, her mom, just about every one she had ever met, but to have Angel do it was more than she thought she could bear. 

Eyeing the washbasin cautiously in case another reflection appeared, she started to get dressed. 

*****

Buffy rolled over in her bed and glared at the digital clock that stared back at her. The readout read nine am. She rolled over, reaching back so that her head rested on her arms and stared up at the ceiling. For some reason she expected to see blue sky with gently rolling clouds and a blazing hot sun rather than the dull white plaster that faced her. With a slight groan she clambered out of bed and was surprised when her bare feet touched thick carpet rather than coarse-grained sand.

"Honestly Buffy." She muttered to herself. "You have one dream you're in the desert and suddenly you think everything should be sandy and roasting hot." 

She padded tiredly down the stairs yawning as she went, the sunlight outside seeming strangely subdued after the dream. As she passed the mirror that hung from the hall wall, she stopped and checked her reflection. Her hair hung limply down either side of her face and her skin was slightly flushed from the days heat. Nothing a bit of makeup and a quick shower couldn't fix she grinned, taking pride in her own grooming skills. Suddenly an image of Faith stood behind her. Tears stained the other Slayer's cheeks, her long brown hair hanging in greasy waves around her surprisingly pallid face. 

"But I'm not strong enough!" the reflection of Faith wept. 

"Faith!" Buffy's voice was the epitome of surprise. "Faith how did you…" her voice trailed off as she glanced over her shoulder to see if the other girl was there. The hall was empty save her. She felt a snarl of anger rising up inside her as she turned back to face the reflection of the rogue Slayer. 

"Faith." She snapped at the mirror. "I don't know what new torture you think this is, but I'm not falling for any of it. You can rot in your own little Hell for all I care!" The reflection of Faith continued to weep as if she hadn't heard a word Buffy had said. 

"I'll never be strong enough!" The reflection continued to sob as it faded from the mirror.

*****

King sat bolt upright in his seat, his eyes scanning the shadowy interior of the warehouse, the memory of the dream still fresh in his mind. Outside the sun was shining in from between the boards that covered the warehouse windows. Thick clouds of dust drifted in the sunlight that shone through the gaps. The dream had had an eerie feeling about it, a feeling of reality that was making him feel uncomfortable already. King hated it. Before the Slayer had cursed him with this thing they called a soul he'd been strong. Nothing had made him feel uncomfortable, but now… Since coming to LA he'd been jumping at shadows every night. A deeply engrained sense of wariness had haunted him where previously he hadn't had a care in the world. 

Slowly he eased himself cautiously out of his seat and began to edge his way through the warehouse, sniffing the air as he went. Something wasn't right. He could smell it. There was something not quite right in the air around him. As he moved he caught sight of a puddle rippling slightly. There was no breeze or vibration to make it ripple. Cautiously he moved toward it, watching the ripples move across the surface like miniature waves. As he drew nearer a reflection of the little blonde Slayer who had cursed him shimmered into existence in the puddle of water. 

"Buffy!" he snarled, glaring around the warehouse. "Come to finish the job Slayer!" he yelled into the shadows. As if it wasn't enough that she cursed him with a soul and haunted his dreams, now she was taunting him from the shadows. He frowned as his eyes continued to scan the shadows. Something was wrong, why couldn't he smell her? 

"You can rot in your own little Hell for all I care!" Buffy's reflection snarled at him in reply. With a roar of fury, King hurled himself at the puddle. 

"You think Heaven wants you Slayer?" he hissed as he plunged his hands into the puddle. They passed through the reflection to slap loudly against the floor at the bottom of the puddle. Before he'd even finished speaking the reflection had faded. With a deep growl of frustration he fell back onto the ground. 

"I hate this place." He muttered under his breath, continuing to eye the puddle suspiciously.

*****

High above the busy streets of LA, the strange figure sat cross-legged on the floor of the office, thick curtains drawn heavily across the windows to block out the sunlight. His eyes were closed and his breathing steady and trained. Three crystal balls were placed evenly around him. Each one was nestled at the centre of a plush cushion, with a burning candle next to it. Slowly he opened his eyes. It was done, and rather well too even if he did say so himself. He let his eyes move around the office taking in the pine wood walls and various certificates and diplomas, each one lovingly framed and displayed so that anyone who entered could see the owner's achievements. 

His lip twisted up in a sneer as he glared at each one. In his opinion, there was no need for such wanton vanity. The owner should be capable of displaying their strength and skill without need for such flashiness. He smiled inwardly to himself. It had been so long and yet he still remembered his master's teachings as if it were yesterday. He stroked the hilt of the sword that hung at his hip lovingly. He remembered the first time he had drawn it had been against someone like the owner of this office, someone who felt the need to broadcast their achievements. The encounter had been the end of those achievements. 

He watched the crystal balls as they glowed softly on their cushions. In the depths of each one, he watched each of the three players go about their lives, each one blissfully unaware of what awaited them on the horizon. 

"Master." He said smiling at the three lives arrayed out in front of him. "You would be so proud of me."

RECAP (WARNING, SPOILERS AHEAD)

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INNER LIGHT: A dream of a strange man asking for help and a prediction of an unusual star alignment by Giles are only the beginning for Buffy. She soon finds herself attacked by three strong vampires, each with a black bladed tattoo on their forearm. She is saved by the man from her dream who is known to the vampires as the Reaver. He his asking for Buffy's help to protect a derelict temple beneath Sunnydale from an ancient and immensely powerful vampire known as King. Buffy agrees and soon meets King who warns her to stay out of his way. As the night of the star alignment approaches, Buffy uncovers a little knowledge of King and his nemesis. King is a legendary almost King Arthur figure among vampires, whose existence was believed for a long time to be a myth. He ruled over an underworld kingdom which he eventually burned to the ground when his subjects became too decadent as punishment for their complacency. He is dying from the poisoned blood of the Reaver and intends to use the power of the temple on the night of the star alignment to cure himself. The Reaver (aka Marcus) wants to stop him but also wants to use the temple to cure his particular malady. Devising a plan to fight King, Buffy and the gang are ambushed on the eve of the alignment and Buffy is bitten by King, who leaves her to bleed to death. Marcus brings Buffy to the temple and at the time of the alignment uses the temple to heal her instead of himself. King is furious and fights both Buffy and Marcus. Eventually Buffy manages to stun the vampire and as they flee the temple, Xander detonates a cache of explosives he 'requisitioned' from the military burying King beneath it. Marcus leaves Sunnydale and King finds one particle of the life giving light in the ruins of the temple that he uses to restore himself to life.

ODIUM: A construction project blasts open the remains of the temple, allowing King to escape, intent on revenge against Buffy. In the meantime the mysterious new curator of the Sunnydale museum takes delivery of an ancient black bladed sword for exhibition. King reveals his freedom to Buffy, but is quickly distracted from vengeance by the news of his own sword arriving in Sunnydale. As Buffy and the others research King in an attempt to defend themselves from him, they too discover the presence (and significance) of the sword which is supposedly called Odium. Planning to steal the sword before King can reach it, the band break into the Sunnydale museum before sunset, only to find the sword guarded by none other than Marcus, and a creepy Watcher by the name of Gibson with the unique ability to 'hear' peoples auras, and who also appears to know Giles. It turns out the Council know of the significance of Odium, and have sent it to Sunnydale in the hope that Buffy will protect it from King. King quickly learns of Buffy's theft of the sword, and promptly kidnaps Dawn, setting up a bargain with Buffy to trade her sister for his sword. Under the cajoling of Gibson, Buffy realises she cannot afford to let King live, but after previous experiences knows that she simply cannot beat him in a straight fight. She convinces Willow to perform the same soul giving spell they used on Angel, while she keeps King busy. After trading Odium for Dawn, Buffy confronts King and manages to destroy Odium, but in retribution King, readies himself to kill her. As he is about to perform the final deed, Willow, with the help of Gibson, manages to perform the spell and King's soul is restored. In the aftermath, tortured by guilt and the pain of a long lost love, King leaves for LA where he seeks advice from the only other vampire with a soul. Angel is unable to convince him however and King disappears from the Hyperion claiming that he doesn't care for the path of redemption.


	2. Big Wide World

Chapter One 

**The Big Wide World**

Lilah Morgan adjusted the skirt of her immaculate business suit nervously as she sat looking through the hardened glass at the young woman who was seated on the other side. She looked like hell, her long brown hair hanging greasily down around her pasty white face. She looked like a sick doll. Little did anyone save Lilah know that if the girl wanted, she could punch straight through the reinforced glass and break the lawyers neck before the guards could even lift a finger. 

She fidgeted nervously with her skirt again. 

"So," said the girl, cocking her head slightly, "what brings you to this neck of the woods?"

"Faith." Lilah smiled with a warmth she did not feel. "Why shouldn't I pay you a visit? After all, you are one of our most…" she paused as she searched for the right word. Unstable and psychotic didn't really fit the bill.

"…distinguished clients." She said finally. Faith gave her a cocky grin. 

"Oh really." Her voice carried the faintest hint of mocking. "I thought the whole client/lawyer relationship broke down when I killed the assassin you guys sent after me." Lilah's smile disappeared as she adopted a disapproving frown. 

"That was an unfortunate occurrence." Said Lilah. Yeah right. The only thing unfortunate about it was that the demon hadn't ripped out her liver and swallowed it whole when it had the chance. "One of my colleagues was disappointed that you did not live up to your part of the bargain. His interests have since lead him along a different path to the firm." Lilah still felt nervous when she thought of Lindsey she got a little nervous. She was always worried that he would turn up out of the blue; grinning and claiming his whole leaving had been a joke the company had decided to play on her. Given the sadistic nature of some of her superiors, she wouldn't entirely put it past them.

"Uh huh." said Faith nodding. "I take it this is the bargain where you said you'd pay me to kill a friend of mine." Lilah raised her eyebrows at that. If she remembered rightly, Faith and Angel hadn't exactly been friends back then. 

"What do you want?" Faith continued, her voice dropping to tone that was almost threatening. "Want me to knock off someone else you don't like? An uncle? Maybe an aunty or… hey, even a grandparent or two? Gotta tell you though, my price just went up to the costly level of never!"

"Faith," said Lilah, doing her best to sound hurt, "we just want what is best for you, the same way we want the best for all our clients." Faith looked at her from beneath eyebrows slanted with disbelief. 

"I think I've heard enough." She said, waving for one of the guards that she'd finished. Lilah smiled. 

"Then I'll see you this afternoon then." Faith's head whipped round to stare at Lilah, open shock spreading across her pallid face. 

"What did you just say?" Lilah gave her a chilling smile. It was a smile of triumph. 

"I said, I'll be back this afternoon."

"Why?" Faith demanded as one of the guards took her by the arm and began to lead her away from the partition glass. She shook herself free from his grip slamming her arms hard against the glass. Lilah tried hard not to recoil as the glass visibly shuddered under the impact. 

"Oh, did no one tell you?" she said, in mock surprise. "You've just received an official pardon for your crimes. You're being freed this afternoon." Faith sagged visibly as she heard the words spoken. She was muttering something under her breath as one of the guards took her gently by the arm and marched her away. Lilah strained her ears to catch what it was. All she heard was something about not being strong enough.

*****

Faith sat on the uncomfortable mattress of her bunk, her knees drawn up under her chin, arms wrapped around them, rocking back and forth softly to the accompanying squeak of springs. She lifted her head slightly and stared out of the window. The angle she was looking from meant she could only see the sky and the sun shining in it. Was she really ready for this? Ready to return to the big wide world? Was she strong enough yet? She groaned at that thought. Just the other week she'd had to refrain from beating one of the other prisoner's to death in the weights room when the woman had decided to earn herself a reputation by challenging the prison hard case.

Faith wasn't the only murderer in here, but she was the only one to who murder and death were occupational hazards. She went back to rocking back and forth on the bed. Why were Wolfram and Hart doing this? It wasn't like she was in their good books or anything right now, and she was almost certain she wasn't going to be invited to the Christmas party. It didn't matter what they wanted. She wouldn't play their game, not this time. This time she wasn't playing anyone's game. Not Wolfram and Hart's and not the Mayor's although that would be difficult given his current state of deadness. 

Thoughts of the Mayor immediately brought back thoughts of her time in Sunnydale, hanging with the Scooby Gang. Every time she thought of Buffy and her friends she felt a strange surge of guilt. They'd taken her in when she had nowhere else to be. They'd tried to help her, tried to understand her and none of them had tried any harder to know her than Buffy. But acceptance hadn't been enough for her. She'd wanted it all, everything Buffy had, everything Buffy took for granted. The fact that she didn't realise how much she took for granted had only made Faith angrier. She'd grown to hate Buffy for having so much while she had so little and that hate had driven her straight into the open arms of the Mayor. When she'd joined him in his cause she'd lost something, something so small and slight at first she hadn't realised it was gone. It had taken Wolfram and Hart's mission to kill Angel to make her realise that she'd lost it, and it had taken a life times prison sentence to help her find it. In many ways she was still looking. 

The loud rapping sounded at the door again. 

"C'mon Faith." Said the guard. "Time for the jail bird to fly the coup." With a deep sigh, Faith sprang nimbly down from her bunk and made her way over to the door. She may not be ready for this, but it wasn't as if she had been given a choice in the matter. The least she could do was face it the way she had faced the rest of her life. As the door opened she straightened her back and adopted her confident swagger as she walked out of the room. She was going to face it with balls.

Outside the shadows were the long creeping shadows of late afternoon. The sun was sinking low in the sky, changing from a bright shining light to a dull orange ball. The woman lawyer Faith was already growing to dislike and couldn't remember the name of was waiting for her with a couple of heavies as she stepped out of the gates to the prison, scratching uncomfortably at the tight top she now wore. 

"Faith." the woman said, flashing one those fake smiles she did so well, at the same time revealing dazzling white teeth that only the LA elite could afford to possess. "You took a little longer than I expected." Faith eyed the two louts next to the lawyer suspiciously before answering. They were the kind of men who didn't look right in suits. Huge shoulders, bulging biceps and joint-of-meat hands rested uncomfortably with the constraints of a formal two-piece.

"Well, as a free woman I can take all the time I like." Faith replied finally, giving the lawyer a sarcastic smile as she did so. "If I kept you waiting, then good. Life's full of disappointments." The woman smiled again. This time there was no pretend warmth. 

"I don't think you really understand. This isn't a release, just a transfer to our own, shall we say, more private facilities. Boys." Before Faith could even react she felt the lawyers two shaved apes grab her arms, twisting them violently together before slamming a pair of handcuffs sharply around her wrists. Each man gripped her tightly just beneath her armpits as they frogmarched her forward. The lawyer looked her up and down, smiling that same perfect smile. 

"You didn't really think we'd let you just walk away from us did you?" the woman said. "Have you any idea the amount of time and effort it took some of our top people to come up with an appeal case to get you out. Bill Gates couldn't afford the legal battle we just won." 

"You must be so proud." Faith sneered as the two men dragged her off toward the curb. The lawyer took out a cell phone as they walked and tapped in a number. Faith could here the phone on the other end of the line ringing faintly before it was answered. The person on the other end of the line was a man. 

"Mr Reed, it's Lilah Morgan… Yes… Yes Mr Reed we have her right here. The car is on its way? Thank you sir." She snapped the phone shut and turned to face Faith. "Sorry to keep you waiting like this, but good transport is so hard to come by in this city." Faith shot her a sarcastic smile that came out as more of a sneer. 

The sound of an engine caused her to turn her head as a limousine turned a nearby corner and rolled toward her. She should've known. Wolfram and Harts flunkies always travelled in style, especially this Lilah. The limo rolled to a halt in front of them, the back door swinging invitingly open. She felt the man on her right's grip slacken slightly as he reached over to hold the door open while they manhandled her inside. She didn't pass up the opportunity. Without warning she swung her legs up, bracing them against the limousine's chassis and twisting hard to her left. The man was so surprised by the movement that all he could do was let go of her as she used her momentum to turn and slide down between the legs of the other heavy. She ground to a halt in the dirt right between the man's legs. Without hesitation she rolled back, her feet kicking the man in the crotch as she went by. His breath exploded from his chest as he instinctively released his grip on her so that he could clutch at that most sensitive of areas. Using her existing momentum, Faith continued to roll back until she was balanced on her shoulders and neck. Drawing her legs in close she moved her handcuffed hands around her ankles before righting herself with a back spring. The first of the heavies charged her again. Without even pausing for breath, she ducked his wildly misjudged punch and swung out with her leg, sweeping the man's feet out from under him. As he hit the floor, his jacket fell open, revealing a ring of keys held at his hip. Hurriedly, Faith dipped down, unclipping the keys before turning and haring off up the street away from the slowly recovering flunkies. 

Lilah watched as the girl fled. She had no intention of chasing Faith, mainly because of the whole super human strength and speed with which Slayers just happened to be blessed. Still, this would definitely prove an obstacle to her employers. She turned and slipped gracefully into the limo, noting for the first time its tinted windows. So subtle was his presence that at first Lilah didn't realise there was another occupant of the limo. She turned to stare at him, trying her best to hide the surprise she felt at the sight of him. 

"What are you doing here?" she said. The man turned to stare at her. The stranger unnerved Lilah. She was used to being put down or treated as inconsequential, but she had never before been treated with such complete disdain. To him, she seemed little more than a particularly nasty stain on an otherwise cleanly planned operation. 

"I came to meet the Slayer." He said matter of factly. "It is rare for one of my kind to ever get the chance to truly study one. She would have been interesting."

"Well your going to be more than a little disappointed then." Said Lilah, trying not to meet the man's eyes. 

"I take it all did not go as planned." He said, still staring ahead. 

"She escaped, but don't worry. We will find her." 

"Worry?" the man said, sounding slightly surprised by the suggestion. "Why would I worry?"

"The Slayer is crucial to our plan." Said Lilah, as if talking to a schoolboy, rather than a creature that would probably outlive her whole family line. 

"We have already planned for such possibilities and I am certain you forget some of the more desirable aspects of being as I am." For the first time he turned and looked at her. His clear blue eyes were flat and emotionless. "The beauty of being immortal is that you can always come back and try again." He turned away from her again, his posture clearly indicating he considered the conversation at an end. Lilah turned away and nodded to the driver. Slowly the limo pulled away from the curb and sped off into the depths of the city. 

*****

Angel stood hunched over the fridge, his eyes travelling over the large containers of blood. He hated days like this. Days where he wasn't certain what he really wanted, where everything was suddenly a decision you knew you'd regret five seconds after you made it were always a bitch to muddle through. This one though he felt fairly certain he had narrowed down. Should it be type O negative or B positive? Decisions, decisions.

"Oh for Gods sake." The voice rang with irritation. A perfectly manicured hand appeared in his field of view, snagging a large plastic container of type A and slapping it into the palm of his hand before slamming the refrigerator door shut. He stared blankly at the tub in his hand for a moment before turning away. 

"Corde…" he began. She lifted her hand cutting him off before he had chance to even finish saying her name. 

"It was freezing in here with that door open, and besides, it's just blood. Not like you're picking out of a selection of ice creams." Angel didn't even try to explain to that picking out different types of blood was _exactly_ like picking out of a selection of ice creams. Humans never seemed to understand that blood never tasted quite the same way twice. They seemed to think that just because each type of blood looked the same it would taste the same. 

"What?" said Cordelia, her hands on her hips in an exasperated manner. Angel glanced up at her. 

"Huh?" 

"What's wrong? What did I do now?" 

"Corde…" 

"You've got that thoughtful look you get sometimes." She said, cutting him off again. He looked at her blankly. 

"You know, the one where your forehead goes all bumpy and… Well not vamp bumpy just bumpy bumpy." She looked at his blank expression and gave a groan of surrender. "You know the one I mean."

"Not having a reflection, I'd have to say no." he said. Cordelia's shoulders slumped. 

"It's always something with you isn't it." Angel ignored her and went back to opening up his tub of type A blood. Slowly he began to sup at it, immediately wishing he'd got the type O when he'd had the chance. Just as he was about to disappear back upstairs the phone at the check in desk rang into life. Cordelia was there in an instant. Angel wanted to know how she did that. The phone never seemed to get two rings before she was on it. She had visions of people in trouble, not visions of when they were going to call.

"Hello, Angel Investigations, we help the helpless, Cordelia Chase speaking, how may we…" her voice trailed off as the person on the other end of the line butted in. Angel turned with surprise. Very few people had the nerve to interrupt Cordelia mid sentence, even those who barely knew her.

"Oh…" Cordelia said, turning to face Angel, surprise etched into her face.

"Who is it?" Angel mouthed silently pointing at the phone. Cordelia held a finger to her lips shushing him to silence. 

"Hi Faith." She said.  


	3. Graveyard Shift

Chapter Two 

**Graveyard Shift**

Buffy hated cemeteries. Spending a good portion of your life in one hunting various different types of hell spawn and then being forced to dig your way out of your own grave thanks to a careless after thought in a resurrection spell could colour your perception like that. And yet here she was. Again. The same way she had been last night… And the night before that… And, now that she thought it about it, the night before that. 

She groaned loudly. She was definitely in one of those moods. One of those 'touch me or annoy in the smallest possible way and you'll be eating lunch through a straw for the rest of your life' type moods. The dream from last night and the subsequent Faith reflection in the hall mirror hadn't really done much for her already volatile temperament. Hell, she wasn't even sure how much of the hall mirror incident had been real, and the thought of imagining something like that was making her all the more cranky. Was she losing her mind? She groaned again at that thought.

"Hey Buff, what's up?" Buffy was thankful Xander had agreed to accompany her that night. She didn't like being alone these days. Being alone gave her time to think and for a girl just recently back from the dead, having time to think wasn't necessarily a good thing. 

"Nothing really." She lied. Xander continued to look at her, an expression of  'Okay, nothing's wrong, except…' written across his face. She stared defiantly back at him. 

"Xander," she said sternly, "nothing's wrong." He nodded in a placating manner but the look didn't leave his face. Buffy gave a groan of surrender. 

"Alright, alright, enough of the third degree." A smile split Xanders face. 

"I just love watching you crack like an egg." He said. "So c'mon, spill, what's going on?" Buffy sighed. 

"I'm just fed up I guess."

"With what?" said Xander. Buffy gave him the look she normally reserved for morons. 

"This!" she said, her arm moving in a wide arc that took in the whole cemetery. "It's like…" she paused looking for a suitable analogy. "…It's like someone keeps hitting the rewind button on my life! Just as I get anywhere, some great big earth shaking event comes along, the video gets rewound and I have to start again from scratch." She glanced around the cemetery, now in the first flushes of autumn. 

"Plus, the location sucks." Xander shrugged. 

"What's a Slayer to do? If only the vamps would pick a more interesting spot for a hideout instead of falling back on the whole creature of the night thing." Buffy gave another groan of surrender. 

"I suppose it is kind of a weak defence." She said. 

"Talk about it." Said Xander. "Day in, day out falling back on cliché after cliché…" he turned to see her standing with her arms folded in a disapproving stance. 

"Of course it's entirely possible you were thinking of something else." Buffy shook her head amusedly as she turned and resumed her patrol through the graveyard. She hadn't gone two steps when a snarling figure leapt from the bushes, face contorted into full on vamp mode. Buffy's stake lashed out, catching the creature before it had even had chance to finish its challenging snarl. She couldn't help but notice the mild surprise on its face as it vanished in a cloud of dust. 

"You see what I mean!" she said, rounding on Xander, still brandishing her stake. "It's always the same old thing!" She turned and was about to leave when five figures jumped from the bushes around them, each of them wearing immaculately white sets of overalls. In almost perfect unison, the five men flipped out suspicious looking rods, each one about two feet long, divided into a pronged tip. One of the men experimentally pressed a button on the handle of the plastic rod, sending a surge of electricity crackling between the two prongs. 

"But this is new." She said. 

The men rushed them as one. Xander managed to floor one with a well-aimed punch before another grabbed him from behind in a brutal bear hug, while the man who he'd punched clambered to his feet and advanced on them, prod crackling menacingly. Buffy wasted no more time. She charged at the man advancing on Xander, knocking him back to the floor with a well placed blow across the jaw. Xander's legs were kicking wildly in a vain attempt to get at the man behind him or maybe to just dislodge his attackers sturdy grip. 

"Xander!" Buffy yelled, sweeping up a large chunk of dry stone that had broken from one of the older headstones. "Duck!" The young mans head dipped low and Buffy let fly. Her aim was poor, striking the man a glancing blow across the temple, but it was enough to startle him into letting Xander drop to the floor. 

"Buffy, behind you!" Xander yelled moments before the man who had been floored twice grabbed him by the shirt and hurled him bodily against a headstone with a sickening thud. She turned too slowly, catching a jolt from the one of the electric prods in the ribs. She hunched low with the pain that surged through her at the charge. Another of the strange men advanced on her, prod outstretched. Quickly, she reached out, her fingers snagging the prod mid way down. With a quick twist of her wrist she liberated the prod from his grasp, slamming the prongs against his overalls and pressing down on the button. The man shuddered slightly before drawing back. As he did so his face rippled and changed.

"Vampires!" said Buffy, but even as she tried to deal with this latest development two of the others prodded her on both sides of her back. Her spine arched as she felt muscles contract under the charge, sagging visibly as the prods were withdrawn. Panting desperately she whirled around, only to catch another prod in her side. Her attackers were good, better than the usual packs she dealt with. They were using the prods charges to keep her out of reach. A prod to the back of her neck sent her sprawling in the dirt. Immediately the other vamps were on top of her, their prods sending surges of electricity through her. With each jolt she could feel her senses dulling more and more. Desperately she tried to leg sweep one of them. The move was clumsily executed and the vamp easily dodged it before retaliating with another charge from the prod. Her mind began to swim, floating freely above the pain from the charges. 

Buffy gave a final groan and blacked out. 

*****

"Harris?" The voice was familiar on some level to Xander. 

"Harris?" The voice sounded more annoyed this time. Xander groaned. His head felt the size of a melon. Was his head the size of a melon? Everything seemed so foggy. 

"Harris, you raging puff!" This time he recognised the voice, it's distinct English tilt grating on his nerves. Xander groaned again. 

"Spike?" he said, trying to open his eyes. For a moment he was horrified. There were four Spikes staring down at him. One was bad enough but four! It made Xander wish he were still unconscious. Slowly the four Spikes began to meld together into one equally unpleasant whole. 

"Spike," he said again, gingerly touching a lump the size of a golf ball he could feel developing squarely on top of his head. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving your ass is what I'm doing mate." The peroxide vamp said, sitting back on something, arms resting limply on his knees. 

"What do you mean, saving my ass?" he said. Everything was still a little muddled.

"Just passing through on my way home, when I saw a bunch of white coats dragging you across the cemetery." He flipped open a packet of cigarettes, placing one in his mouth. "Figured I'd lend you a hand since you couldn't find yours with a road map and a compass." He patted his pockets, seemingly hunting for a light. Xander rolled his eyes. Spike had been hanging around for so long now he'd grown quite used to their regular insult-slinging matches. There was something familiar about them, like having an itch you kept forgetting to scratch. 

Spike finally found his lighter, flicking at it until a single flame licked up, burning at the end of his cigarette. The vampire took a long satisfied drag on the cigarette and smiled. 

"That hits the spot!" he said. "Nothing like a good fag after you've just kicked the crap out of someone." Xander wasn't listening. Instead he was thinking about what Spike had said earlier, something about white coats? An image of men in white overalls flickered through his mind. He concentrated, seeing what the last thing he could remember was. Buffy. He'd been on patrol with Buffy. They'd been talking - something about rewind buttons and vampire clichés - when they'd been jumped by a group of men in white overalls. He turned his head and caught sight of what Spike was sitting on, a man in white overalls. His eyes were closed and his chest was rising and falling in a steady rhythm. 

"He's out for the count." Said Spike, demonstrating by slapping the man hard across the face. 

"Why aren't you screaming?" said Xander, remembering Spike's chip. Spike looked at him, plainly confused.

"What?" 

"You're chip? Why aren't you screaming?" For the second time that night, Xander was looked at like he was a complete buffoon. 

"He's a vampire Harris." The blonde vampire said, exhaling a cloud of acrid smelling smoke. "And quite an old one compared to the runts you usually get here in good ol' Sunnyhell." He adopted a mock Southern accent. "I'd say at least a hundred, maybe a hundred and ten, give or take a decade. Figured they were dragging you off for a snack. Where's Buffy anyway? I thought you lot might not be so dense as to go wandering round cemeteries after dark without her after all these years." Xander's eyes widened. 

"Buffy!" he said, clambering to his feet, his head spinning viciously. He ignored it. 

"Buffy!" he yelled at the top of his voice. "Buffy! You out there!" There was no reply. 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Said Spike clambering to his feet, still resting one boot on the prostrate vampire. "Are you telling me that she was here with you?" Xander rounded on him, panic shining in his eyes.

"Yes Spike, that's exactly what I'm telling you. Buffy!" he yelled, turning away again. 

"If she was here with you then where is she now? I mean she's not the type to just sod off home while one of her mates is lying around unconscious like a tasty appetiser for any Tom, Dick or Harry creature of the night to come over and feast on." Xander rounded on him again. 

"I don't know Spike, but I know Buffy. She wouldn't just leave me lying here unless…" his voice trailed off as the thought he had been trying to avoid hit him full on. 

"…Unless she didn't have a choice." 

"You mean…" Spike began. 

"Yes Spike!" Xander snapped, staring wildly off into the night. "They must've taken her."

*****

Xander paced, agitatedly gnawing at his thumbnail as Spike grabbed a tub of blood and forced it down the sweating vampire's neck. He didn't know why the vampire was sweating. The creature had no body heat, so technically there was no point. He shrugged. Must've been a psychological thing. He turned and paced back the other way, watching as grimly as Spike yanked the blood away.

"Better?" asked the peroxide vamp. The prisoner taken at the cemetery was manacled to a chair at the centre of the Magic Box in full on vamp mode. Willow and Anya were watching from nearby silently. Willow was pale, as if she was about to be sick. Xander doubted he looked much better. Dawn had wanted to see too but the others had stridently refused. Even if this type of thing was part of her life, there were some things a fifteen year old girl shouldn't be allowed to see. The vampire was nodding in response to Spike's question. 

"Good." Said the English vampire, yanking a knife from where it lay in a bowl of boiling water. Steam rose from the blade as he lifted it into the prisoner's line of sight. "Then we can start again." The moment he had finished speaking, he plunged the steaming hot blade into an open wound on the vampire's shoulder. The creature roared in agony eliciting a wince from Willow. Spike pressed the palm of his hand roughly across the vampire's mouth, muffling its howls of pain. 

"Who sent you and where did you take the Slayer?" he demanded as he pulled the knife free. The vampire's blood sizzled quietly on the blade. 

It had been going on like this for nearly three hours. Spike would torture the vampire in an attempt to gain information. When the wounds began to become too severe, even for the undead, he would simply force more blood down the creature's throat, causing it to regenerate a little before starting again. According to Spike, vampires made the best torture victims, although by his own admission, he wasn't particularly skilled at the torture part. That had always been Angelus' speciality. Xander had found himself thanking Heaven for small mercies more than once in the last three hours. If Spike was an amateur, he'd hate to see what a professional was like. 

Slowly Spike withdrew his hand, allowing the vampire to speak. 

"I will not talk!" the vampire spat for what seemed like the hundredth time. "There is nothing you can do to me that will make me brake my oath of allegiance! I will serve him to the grave!" Spike grinned wickedly. 

"Empty oath mate." He said, reaching up and running the blood stained knife down its face leaving a long cut that ran from the prisoner's temple to just above his mouth. "You've already been there." He turned from his hunched position in front of the vampire, dropping the knife to the table. 

"More water." He said to Anya. Xander watched as his fiancée nodded obediently and hurried over, scooping the bowl up from the table and hurrying off into the back to boil some more water. 

"Spike." Xander hissed to the peroxide vampire so that the prisoner couldn't hear him. "This is getting us nowhere." Spike shot him a look. 

"You don't need to tell me that Harris." He muttered under his breath. "This git's sworn some kind of blood oath. He's loyal as a puppy dog to whoever's holding his leash. That kind of bond's hard to break." There was a brief groan as the vampire passed out again. Spike turned and made his way over. 

"Hey!" he growled, grabbing the prisoner by one of his arms that dangled limply at his side. "Hey! Wake up! We're not done…" His voice trailed off, as he seemed to catch sight of something. 

"Spike?" said Xander moving closer. "Spike, what's wrong." 

"Bugger me!" Spike muttered before holding out the vampire's arm, rolling back the sleeve of the overalls to display a dark tattoo on the vampire's right forearm. Xander stared harder. The tattoo was of a black bladed sword. A sword he remembered only too well. 

"Odium!" he breathed. 

"No prizes for guessing who our little vampire shish kebab here works for." Said Spike, letting the vampire's arm fall limply to his side. 

"But that's impossible!" said Willow. "King's got a soul now! I'm sure of it!" 

"We know Will." Said Xander, never taking his eyes of the vampire. He'd hoped they'd heard the last of King the last time. Before Marcus had left he'd promised them that King was nowhere in Sunnydale and that creepy Watcher bloodhound called Gibson had backed him up. 

"What is that?" the voice came from behind one of the bookshelves. 

"Dawn!" said Willow, her voice ringing with surprise. "We told you to wait in the other room!" Buffy's little sister crept out from behind the bookshelf that had been her hiding place. She looked a little nervous, as if she'd just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. 

"I could hear all the commotion and I wanted to see what was going on." She looked from one to the next. Xander couldn't help but notice the way she avoided looking directly at Spike. "Buffy's my sister. If these guys kidnapped her, I need to know where she is." A dry laugh sounded from behind them. The four unlikely friends turned and glared at the vampire. 

"Something funny mate?" said Spike, taking a threatening step forward. The vampire continued to chuckle from between dry cracked lips, unperturbed by Spikes threatening steps. 

"Your Slayers are already dead." He laughed, his words wheezing and strained. "On the night of the full moon, their blood will stain the towers red, their screams shall call forth the Truth, and at their deaths that truth shall be given form." He smiled, revealing bloodstained teeth. "When the Triumvirate perishes, my suffering will be rewarded, and yours will never end!" with a final chuckle he slumped back into unconsciousness. Willow frowned. 

"Did he just say Slayers?" she said. Xander nodded. 

"I think so." Spike looked at them both as if they were completely nuts.

"The bloke's probably delirious." He said motioning at the unconscious vampire. "There can only ever be one Slayer…" his voice trailed off as he thought about that for a moment. "…except," he said snapping his fingers, "when there are two of them!" 

"Faith!" Dawn's voice was as surprised as the rest of them felt. "They must have Faith!" 

"Staining towers red?" said Xander, considering the rest of the vampire's words. "That and the Faith thing, do you think they could've taken her to LA?" 

"There are a lot of places with skyscrapers Harris." Said Spike frowning in the direction of the prisoner. 

"Yeah, but Faith's in jail in LA. Plus, they're vamps. How many other cities with skyscrapers could they reach before daybreak? I doubt they'd want to try keeping a Slayer under control when she can dust them by just throwing them outside." 

Just then the door from the back of the shop burst open as Anya came scurrying in, a fresh bowl of steaming hot water clutched in between oven mitt encased hands. 

"I've got more water!" she said hurrying over to the table. Spike glanced at her for a moment, before turning and striding over to the prisoner. Without even pausing he stooped low, breaking off one of the chair legs. As the chair began to topple backwards, his arm shot forward. The vamp was dust before the chair even hit the ground. 

"I don't think we'll be needing that right now An." Said Xander. 


	4. A Real Estate Offer You Can't Refuse

Chapter Three A Real Estate Offer You Can't Refuse!__

King clambered out of the battered Land Rover that passed for his transport in this city, leaning back in to snag the hefty cardboard on the passenger seat. He glanced down briefly at the contents, smiling briefly at the sight of the crimson fluid sloshing back and forth in the clear plastic beakers. Good, there had been no spillages. Slamming the car door with his foot he turned and made his way off across the sidewalk to the chain link gates that lead into the abandoned warehouse district.

The smell of the blood was intoxicating and at the same time sickening. Three thousand years ago he would have been physically sick had he had to drink blood, now, millennia later it was that freshly resurfaced side of him that was threatening to send him into a dry retching fit at even the thought of that substance on his tongue. 

Holding the box tightly in one hand he dipped into his bomber jacket's pocket with the other, producing a set of keys that glistened dimly in the light from the single working street lamp in the vicinity. This wasn't LA's most pleasant neighbourhood. Street gangs, drug pushers, rapists, thieves and murderers were all par for the course round here. King smiled bitterly. Little did they know they had something ten times as bad in their midst. He'd come here for the privacy it provided and the rich pickings so many scum promised. The warehouse district had been relatively cheap, especially for a creature with a savings account that had never really felt the need to dip into it before. As a soulless vampire, King had never seen the importance of money, but he had seen the practicality of having a sizeable source should it ever be needed. He hunted constantly those first few nights, straying to the limits of the neighbourhood in search of food and easy game. He'd thought it would so be easy to feed of the kind of humans that no one would miss, that the world would be better off without. The girl had been the first. He'd caught her as she fled an angry house owner armed with a shotgun, whom she'd just relieved of a stereo and a whole batch of CD's. She'd lost him streets back, but her panic had led her into a dead end alleyway. That was where he'd cornered her. 

He remembered the sound of the stereo shattering as she dropped it to the floor at the sight of his true face. She'd been so scared, cowering there in between the filth smeared walls of one building and a pile of stinking trash cans on the other. The fear he'd smelled from her had brought the voice, the voice he had learned to detest since Buffy had cursed him with the soul of the man he'd used to be. It had come, like a whirlwind of hate and vile, howling out of the depths of his mind, spitting and cursing all manner of obscenities. It had screamed at him to string her up and tear out her innards, to rip out her throat and use her empty skull as a chalice from which to gulp her beautiful warm blood. Even thinking about it now, he could feel the thing stirring at the back of his mind.

Before he'd known what he was doing, he'd had her slammed up against the wall, his hand choking the life out of her, the smell of her fear driving the voice into an even greater frenzy with each passing second. He'd fought it tooth and nail, shoving her forcibly away, telling her to run as fast and as far as she could. When she had left he'd been able to calm the voice, driving it back into the recesses from where it had come. She hadn't been the last he'd tried to hunt. There had been the pimp, the addict, another thief and the ganger marooned outside his territory. And each one he'd let live. Each time the voice had come and to fight it, he'd had to let them go. To feed on a human would be to lose himself to the obscenity lurking at the back of his mind that even as a soulless vampire he would have detested. 

He twisted the key in the padlock, releasing the chain that held the gates to the district firm. Silently he slipped through, locking the gates behind him. He turned and made his way across the ragged tarmac, his heavy boots crunching in the loose grit and stone as he made his way toward Warehouse Number Three. His ears pricked at the sound of a woman's scream from somewhere up ahead. He groaned at the sound. He though he'd made sure people didn't come here. Well, maybe it was time he sent a message.

*****

Diane Chambers sprinted desperately down the potholed tarmac between two of the giant rotting warehouses. Her feet beat out a staccato rhythm against the ground as she dashed headlong through the abandoned district. Her breath rattled in her chest as she felt exhaustion threaten to overcome her. Gritting her teeth against the fire that seemed to be burning in her lungs, she pushed hurriedly onward. 

Quickly she glanced back over her shoulder to catch sight of James sprinting behind her. 

"Don't look back!" he yelled. "Just keep running!" How had she got into this? They'd stolen the stuff because fencing it would get them some much needed cash. How were they supposed to know that Garcia and his boys had been running their own little racket in the same area? It wasn't like he'd stamped a claim on it or anything! Not that any of that mattered to Garcia. The man was notorious. As far as he was concerned, the entire neighbourhood was his for the taking and anyone trying to cash in without his permission had better be ready to answer to his flunkies. 

There was a loud crash from behind them as one of their pursuers hurtled round the corner they'd just taken, only to smack into a pile trash cans. The sound of gruff shouts and curses from the man echoed through the still night as she surged into the darkness. Out of the blackness the fences marking the boundary of the district loomed, the main gates beckoned invitingly. Coming in here had been James' idea and not one of his best at that. It would have been far easier to lose them in the mazes of back alleys and side streets than in this relatively open area. 

She slammed hard against the gates, the metal chain links rattling loudly as she fumbled desperately to try and open it. She felt panic rising up inside her. The gates weren't opening! Stepping back to try and assess the situation she caught sight of the reason why. A thick heavy chain was wrapped around the gates and the fence, secured by a solid padlock that stared back at her mockingly. James slammed heavily against the gates scrabbling desperately at them. 

"It's no good!" she yelled, trying to get his attention "They're locked up tight!" He glanced at her briefly, before turning back and wrapping his fingers between the links and scrabbling at them as he tried to shimmy up the fence. James was half way up and Diane was about to start when a resounding bang echoed out through the night. She watched, seemingly in slow motion as the back of James' leg practically exploded open as bullet thudded into it. The young man cried out in surprise and pain, tumbling backward off the fence to slam heavily against the tarmac. Diane turned to help when she caught sight of them. Four youths, maybe a little older than her, dressed equally scruffily. One of them was holding a gun, its smoking barrel levelled at James' head. 

"I wouldn't bother helping him." Grinned the one holding the gun. "You'll be joining him on the floor soon."

"Why don't you just leave us alone!" she said, desperately seeking a way out. "We didn't do anything to you!" the lie was empty, and the chances of them buying it were slim. 

"You stole from Garcia." Said one of the others. "He doesn't like to be stolen from." A filthy grin spread slowly across his face. Diane instinctively took a step back, covering the area of bare flesh showing where her shirt had been torn as they struggled to get in here. On the ground, James moaned in pain. 

"Oh yeah!" the man continued, running appraising eyes over her body, lean from weeks with a minimal amount of food. She scratched nervously at the back of her neck as the man took a step toward her, leering disgustingly. "I can think of plenty of uses we could get from you!" he was almost within reaching distance. Slowly Diane backed away until her back clinked softly against the chain link fence. She had nowhere else to go. 

"Excuse me!" the new voice was deep and gravely. Diane's head whipped round to catch sight of the man striding purposefully out of the darkness. A large cardboard box was gripped tightly in his arms like some kind of tramps treasure chest. He had long dark hair that hung down to his waist in a long lose ponytail. His leather bomber jacket fluttered slightly in the night's breeze as he moved. She could just make out a tattoo next to his right eye, but she couldn't tell what it was meant to be.  

"Excuse me!" he said again, as if trying to get their attackers attention. 

"Get out of here man!" the one with the gun snarled. "This doesn't concern you!" 

"This is my property." Said the stranger, still moving steadily toward them. "Anything that happens here concerns me." The man with the gun rolled his eyes and turned on the stranger. 

"Is it still going to be your property when you're six feet under?" he said, turning and rapidly squeezing off a round. The bullet hurtled through the air slamming into the stranger's shoulder, causing him to drop the cardboard box. There was a sickeningly wet crunch of plastic breaking as the box slammed into the floor. Slowly, a thick red liquid began to spill out over the tarmac, glistening brightly in the light from the one nearby working street lamp. Diane had seen blood too many times before not to recognise it now. From the looks of things so had the other men as they blanched at the sight of it. 

"What kind of sick bastard are you!" said the man, levelling his gun for another shot at the stranger. Then something extraordinary happened. One moment, the stranger was standing, nursing his wounded shoulder slightly. The next, he was moving so quickly he was almost a blur. The first man to drop, screaming in agony as his wrist was snapped, was the one holding the gun. The weapon skittered out over the ground. Diane watched in grim fascination as the stranger moved with blinding speed. The next to fall was the one who she'd been sure was about to rape her. He pulled a flick knife, waving it threateningly in the stranger's face. 

"Don't come any closer!" he shouted, a hint of nervousness in his voice. "I'll stick you if you come one step closer!" The stranger watched him impassively, and then suddenly he was moving again. The man's knife swipe was clumsy and the stranger easily turned it aside, stepping in and bringing his arm up, palm flat, into the other mans chest, sending him sprawling in the dirt. The other two stared at one another for a moment before turning and sprinting off into the night. As the other two clambered painfully to their feet, he turned and caught the one whose wrist he'd broken, squeezing it tightly. The man gritted his teeth, trying desperately not to bellow in agony. 

"Now listen to me boy!" the stranger snarled. "This is my property and I like my privacy! You go and tell whoever it is that you're working for, if he brings his…" the stranger glanced at Diane and James, "…disagreements here again, I will kill, slowly and painfully, every one of his men that sets foot on my territory!" the last few words were a vicious snarl. With that, he released his grip on the man's wrist and turned away. Nursing his wounded appendage, the man turned grabbing his companion by the arm and hauling them away. Diane clambered to her feet from where she'd fallen in the dirt, brushing herself down as he turned to face her. At this distance she could just make out the tattoo. It was of a black bladed sword. 

"Thank you so mu…" she began. She never finished the sentence as she felt his hand grip her by the throat and hoist her bodily into the air with a grip as sure as steel.

"How did you get in here!" he snarled at her. 

"What are…" she was cut off again as his fingers tightened, cutting the breath straight out of her throat. 

"I said how!" he growled slamming her hard against the fence. 

"The fence!" she hissed as best she could with his hand choking her. "About two warehouses down, there's a hole in the fence! We came in through there!" The man released her, letting her drop inelegantly to the ground as she gasped for breath 

"I'll give you the same warning." He said, his voice now flat and emotionless. "You tell your friends and your enemies, anyone who steps one foot inside this place will answer to me. Do you understand me?" he turned to look at her. She was nursing her bruised throat. 

"Do you understand?" he said again, a hint of anger in his voice this time. She nodded hurriedly, not wishing to see him angry again after the last time. 

"Good." He said finally, making his way over and unlocking the gates. "Now leave." Clambering to her feet, James' arm draped over shoulder, she walked through the gates as he held them open for her. She could feel his eyes at her back as she crossed the street. She turned, chancing a last glance back over he shoulder. The lock on the gates was back in place and the stranger had disappeared. 

*****

King stomped up the stairs to the upper level of Warehouse Number Three, his mind seething with anger. That blood had cost him a hundred dollars. One hundred dollars down the drain, simply because he'd been careless enough to get shot! What was wrong with him! In the old days, before he'd had a soul, the boy would have been dead long before he'd even had chance to pull the trigger. There was no doubt in his mind, this soul was holding him back. 

He reached the top of the stairs to the sound of a single person clapping. His eyes narrowed as he stared past the reams of Egyptian artefacts that lined the walls, to the huge seat at the end of the room. He liked to think of it as his throne. There was someone sat in it. 

She was, he'd guess, in her late twenties to early thirties. She had long dark hair that curled towards its ends and was dressed in an immaculate business suit, her legs crossed, revealing a generous amount of her shapely thighs. She was surrounded by three figures, each one tense as if waiting for the opportunity to spring into action. A slight sneer tugged at the corner of his mouth. He recognised vampires when he saw them. 

"That was a very impressive show you put on down there." Said the woman shooting him a smile that revealed rows of dazzlingly white teeth. 

"You're in my seat." He said simply, as he moved across the room toward them. With each step he took, both the woman and her vampire lackeys seemed to become more and more tense, though the woman hid it far better. 

"And a very comfortable one it is too." She said, straightening slightly as he approached. 

"What do you want?" he said continuing to move toward them. "It would surprise me if you were with the real estate company. I know some of them are practicing in the black arts to bump up their sales but vampire lackeys? All seems a bit more up scale. So I say again, what do you want?" 

"Can I just say that this collection is marvellous!" Said the woman, sliding gracefully out of the seat and moving off to admire a particularly extravagant sarcophagus. "I take it they are the exhibition that was stolen while being taken on a tour of our fair cities museums." King frowned. 

"You're here about my artefacts?" the woman shrugged. 

"Not really, but an ice breaker often helps in these kind of negotiations." King raised his eyebrows at her. 

"So," he said slowly, "we're negotiating now?" 

"We will be. You see, what we want is to make you an offer."

"What sort of offer?" The woman flashed him another too-white smile. 

"An offer you can't refuse." She said before walking up to him, her vampire flunkies moving with her. 

"My employers have been watching you King," She continued, "and they respect you. They respect your strength and they just hate to see all of that going to waste after what the Slayer did to you."

"What would they know about what the Slayer did to me?" He snarled. "The only other person in this city who could possibly understand is an overly moral fool." He was taken aback as the woman reached up to stroke gently at his cheek. 

"Trust me." She said, her voice low and husky. "We know. We're here to offer you a release from the thing that holds you down. We know you don't want it, and we'll gladly take it away." King stared at her for a moment, unable to hide his disbelief. 

"You… you could make me what I was again?" The woman nodded slowly. 

"We can wipe away that soul that chains you." She said simply. "If you come with us." King stood, stunned. They could take it away! Take away all the pain and suffering, all the guilt, all the memories, they could take them away and he would never have them back! His mind recalled the faces, the faces of each and every person who had met death at his hands in his overly long life. They would all be gone, no longer haunting his every thought. Then her face appeared. Her long shining black hair, her beautiful face, so perfect, so vibrant. She was glaring at him, her eyes filled with hurt. 

"Soonan!" he muttered sadly to himself. He couldn't. To become that thing he'd been, to lose his soul again would be to betray her memory again, the same way he had done so three thousand years ago. 

"Do we have your answer?" the woman said. He turned and glared at her. 

"No." he growled. "I may not like being what I am, but it is more than I deserve." He turned and made his way over to his seat.

"But you could be so much more," the woman pushed. "You could be…" King rounded on her violently, his eyes filled with fury.

"I said NO!" he roared. "NOW TAKE THESE PETS OF YOURS AND GET OUT OF MY HOME!" The vampires at the woman's side snarled at that. King almost hoped they'd try something. He had no problem killing abominations like them. The woman pressed the back of her hands against their chests. King felt a smile brewing. He could see the fear in her eyes. It was plain for all to see. 

"Come on." She said, turning on her heel and moving off toward the stairs. It was taking all her self-restraint not to run. King settled into his throne and watched her go, thoughts of Soonan filling his mind. 

"Are you happy now?" he asked the empty warehouse. 

*****

Lilah flopped into the limo angrily, not even trying to hide her frustration. King was supposed to have been the easiest element of the plan. Go to him, make him the offer they knew he wanted to hear, reel him in. The whole thing was so simple, even a child should have been able to accomplish it. Except for the fact that he seemed to be clinging to something. There was an anchor to his soul, something keeping him from giving it up entirely. She had no idea what it was, but trying to talk him into coming to them willingly would be almost impossible without knowing what it was. Trying to dislodge him by force would be equally impossible on his own ground, and from what surveillance told her, he barely ever left the warehouse district. 

She groaned knuckling her forehead at the feeling of a migraine coming on. 

"I take it yet another element of our plan has fallen through." Lilah practically jumped through the sunroof at that chillingly emotionless voice. She turned to stare at the figure that she hadn't been aware of, sitting next to her. This was getting tiring. 

"Give me time." She said. "We'll solve this problem." The man chuckled dryly. It was the first time Lilah had heard him laugh. She wished she never had. 

"I tried to tell you he would not submit so easily. He has too much to cling to right now." 

"You just tell me what it is," She said, feeling her frustration rising at his remarks, "and then we'll take it away." The strange figure turned to look at her. 

"To do that, I'd have to know what it is he clings to. I don't." he leaned forward and knocked on the glass to get the driver started. For the briefest moment, Lilah caught sight of the black bladed sword tattooed onto the figures forearm. 

"But I will." He said matter-of-factly as the limo moved off.  


	5. Time's Up

Chapter Four Time's Up 

The black convertible's engine roared as Angel shifted down a gear, twisting the wheel into a sharp left hand bend. The car swung gracefully over the tarmac, the cities lights shining off the polished chassis. He'd been circling the block for an hour now and still there was no sign of her. Faith hadn't exactly been an LA native when she'd been arrested, but he'd at least expected her to have some kind of idea where she was. All she'd been able to narrow it down to was this one city block and that hadn't been particularly helpful. 

He was still wondering what she was doing out of jail in the first place. She'd been surprisingly brief on the phone and he wasn't sure whether her liberation had been entirely of the legal variety. It wasn't that he didn't like the girl, far from it. In many ways he'd formed the kind of connection to the confused young woman unlike any he'd ever had before. Her situation reminded him so much of his own, it was scary. But, in the end, she had chosen to play by societies rules and he'd be damned if he was going to let her switch in the middle of the game. He had to admit though; it wouldn't entirely surprise him if she did. After all, the only truly predictable thing about Faith was just how _unpredictable_ she could be. 

He took a right and immediately recognised her about a hundred metres down the road, leaning nonchalantly against the window of an all night Chinese restaurant. Slowly he pulled the car up on the curb, waving to get her attention. It took her a minute to notice him, as she stood still scanning the road, turning a lock of her unkempt dark brown hair between her fingers. She wore a pensive expression. The moment she spotted him, her anxiousness evaporated in a relieved grin that split her face warmly. Hard to believe that just over a year ago, she'd been weeping in his arms, begging him to kill her. He was glad he hadn't although he'd be lying if he said the faintest hint of temptation hadn't been there. 

Still smiling, she hurried over the sidewalk, vaulting into the passenger seat without even opening the door. 

"Hi Angel." She said, her voice was warm but still held a touch of tightness, as if she was concealing something. "Let's get moving." Angel killed the engine and turned in his seat to face her. She'd been low on the details over the phone and now he wanted some answers. 

"What are you doing?" she said, the anxiousness back again. She glanced nervously over her shoulder. "I said let's get moving."

"What I'm doing is waiting for answers Faith. Last I heard from you, you were doing time and now out of the blue I get a phone call saying you're free and in some kind of trouble. Now do you want to explain to me what's going on or do I just leave you here and let you dig your way out of this hole on your own?" 

"Look Angel," Faith said, staring forward through the windshield distractedly, "If I'd known I was getting out, believe me I would've told you. Truth is, and this is on the level, I swear," she held one hand up to her heart while the other was raised into the air to show she wasn't crossing any fingers, "I didn't know I was getting out until this morning! Now can we please just drive? I'm pretty sure I'm being followed." Angel sighed. 

"If I start the car, do you promise me you'll answer my questions?" Faith repeated her swearing gesture. 

"I promise, now can we just get out of here?" Angel nodded grudgingly, twisting the key in the ignition, bringing the car roaring back to life. Slowly he pulled out into the steady stream of traffic. After they'd gone two blocks Faith seemed to relax, leaning back in her chair and stretching tiredly. 

"Okay," said Angel, "Now would you please tell me what in hell you're doing going walkabout? You chose a prison sentence Faith. Did you wake up this morning and just decide you'd had enough? That you wanted a breath of fresh air?" He glanced at her out of one eye as she changed lanes. She looked upset. Angel groaned.

"Look Faith, I'm sorry, but try and look at this from my point of view. You're supposed to be serving close to a life sentence for the crimes you committed. Then suddenly, you're on the other end of the phone, practically begging for me to find you. I want to help you Faith, believe me, it's what I do and you're a particularly special case, but I need something to work with here? Just tell me what's happening and then maybe I can help." Faith sniffed in hurt manner. 

"I wish I knew for certain." She said, turning to stare out at the city as it rushed by. "All I do know is that I woke up this morning with a visitor from that creepy law firm. What do you call it? Wolfram & Hart? Anyway, she say's they've just freed me and she'll be by to see me when I'm cut loose this evening. I get out of prison and she's waiting for me with a couple of flunkies who promptly slap some cuffs on me and say they're transferring me somewhere. I break loose and run for it, call you, beg for help then hang around waiting for you to pick me up. End of story." She leaned back in the seat again. "Feel free to comment if any of this strikes a bell with you. No big brewing evil I should know about that could be behind this? No impending Apocalypse?" Angel was frowning. 

"As far as I know, nothing's happening. To be honest, the underworld's been a bit quiet recently." He said, ponderously as he shifted into third. "But if Wolfram & Hart are involved, then something's definitely on the horizon. Wherever they're involved, things are always a lot more complicated than they seem." Faith watched him for a moment. 

"So what do we do?" she said finally. Angel shrugged. He still had no clue as to what was going on.

"For now, we wait." He said finally

*****

"…It's not that I don't trust Angel." Wesley was saying as he paced worriedly back and forth across the hotel lobby. "It's more that I don't always trust his judgement. He has never been able to think that clearly concerning Faith, and I'm worried that his…" he paused, searching for the right word, "affection for the girl may be clouding his judgment." The thought of Faith made the scar she'd given him on his right arm itch faintly. Cordelia shrugged submissively. 

"Preaching to the converted here Wesley." She said. "I don't like Faith anymore than you do, but Angel's convinced she's trying to change. It's like this whole mission thing for him, and you know how he can get when he has a cause." Wesley fought back a shudder. The memories of Angel's growing obsession with Darla were still as vividly unpleasant as ever. Things had changed since then though. Now Wesley was leader and Angel had better abide by his rules, but what about Faith? Wesley had been as surprised as anyone when the young Slayer had given herself up to the police and from what Angel had told him, she was sticking to the straight and narrow, but Faith had proved more than once that she was a skilled manipulator, if not always the subtlest. What if his suspicions were completely unjustified? What if she really was trying to reform? Wasn't her salvation what they worked for? Wasn't she the epitome of the type of people they were supposed to help, a young girl, dragged down into despair by the harshness of the world?

"Maybe we ought to give him the benefit of the doubt this time." He said slowly, as if dragging the words from deep down. Cordelia stared at him for a moment. 

"I hope he knows what he's doing." She said slowly. Behind him, Wesley heard the door to the Hotel swing open. Turning slowly, he watched as Angel and Faith walked in. The brunette Slayer moved with a strange uneasiness, constantly looking over her shoulder at the door as they walked down the steps and into the foyer. Only when Angel bolted the doors did she visibly relax, the tension just seeming to drain out of her. Wesley watched as Faith glanced briefly around the room, her head hung low, eyes failing to make contact with either him or Cordelia. 

"Faith." He said sternly. The girl turned her eyes to him, but seemed able to hold his gaze only a few moments before she looked away guiltily. 

"Hi Wes." She said, staring uncomfortably at the tiled floor. 

"Angel." He said, his voice holding its most commanding tone. "Can I speak to you privately for a moment." Angel shot him a quick glance and nodded before turning back to face Faith. He whispered something in her ear. She nodded and sat down on the couch in the centre of the foyer, her fingers drumming uneasily on her knees. Wesley turned and moved to the back doors of the hotel that lead to its small outdoor garden, holding it open for the vampire as he stepped through, before allowing it to swing shut as he stepped through. 

"Wesley," said Angel, beginning before Wesley had even fully turned away from the door. "I know what you're going to say, but Faith needs…" He was silenced as Wesley raised a hand to cut him off.

"Angel," he said steadily, "I would be lying if I said Faith wasn't a concern, but I do know what the girl did for your sake, and I'm willing to giver her a chance for that." the itch in his arm grew slightly at the thought of the girl sat on the couch in the other room.

"However, what I feel I must discuss with you is your behaviour." Angel frowned at that. 

"My behaviour?"

"Bringing Faith here jeopardises all of us Angel. Surely you must realise that." 

"Of course," Angel nodded, "and normally I'd never put you, Cordelia, Gunn or Fred in danger like that, but I just thought that…" Wesley held up his hand again. 

"Angel, I know it's hard for you sometimes, but I _am_ leader now. A decision like this should have at least been addressed to me first." He paused briefly. "As it stands, Cordelia and I have discussed this and we are willing to help, but you shouldn't have made the decision on your own." Angel stood, staring at him for a moment, a look of anger reaching his eyes. Slowly he nodded in submission, the anger gradually fading. 

"Alright Wes." He said, his voice still carrying a touch of frustration. "You win." 

*****

Faith couldn't relax. She didn't know what it was, but ever since she'd phoned Angel for help she'd had the sneaking suspicion that she was being watched. It felt like eyes were boring into the back of her soul, constantly keeping a silent vigil over her. Her fingers continued to drum silently on the worn leather that covered her knees. 

She twisted her head slightly to see Cordelia watching her from behind the hotel check in desk. The brunette girls eyes were full of caution and wariness. That she didn't like Faith was plainly obvious. Faith couldn't really blame her. The last time she'd seen her, she'd left the former high school ditz sporting a nasty shiner of a black eye. Compared with what she'd done to Wesley, Cordelia had got off lightly. She felt a surge of guilt at that. She had been as cruel as she could imagine to the ex Watcher for no more reason than that she wanted to get to Angel. She'd dredged up every dirty little detail she could think of and struck out at Wesley with each and every one of them. No wonder the guy had tried to hand her over to the Council again. 

Despite all her guilt, she could still feel that part of her stirring silently at the thought of the darkness she had brought into the lives of so many. It was the part of her that regretted none of what she had done, the part of her that wanted to kill like she had done before. She gritted her teeth, while her hands clenched tightly around her knees. 

"Never again." She muttered under her breath. There was a loud bang of doors rattling shut as Wesley and Angel walked back in. Once again, she found herself unable to meet the man's accusing eyes.

"Faith." He said, his voice holding a note of forced politeness. "Would you follow me to your room please." She nodded, pulling herself out of her chair and following him up the stairs. 

"Wesley?" she said, jogging slightly to catch up with him as he strode up the stairs and onto the first floor of the hotel. He turned to look at her, his eyes seeming to measure her. He was different to the last time they'd met. She couldn't place where it had come from exactly, but there was a strange hardness to him that hadn't been there before. She swallowed nervously under his gaze. God she hated this.

"Yes Faith?" he said after a pause that seemed to have lasted an eternity. 

"I was… um…" she licked her lips which suddenly felt very dry. "I was wondering just what exactly happens next?"  Wesley stared at her for a moment longer. Finally he let out a long sigh, his shoulders slumping slightly, easing the tension that Faith had felt building. 

"I'm not sure." He said slowly. "But we'll help you what ever happens." Suddenly, his back straightened and his shoulders squared as he turned away again, all trace of softness vanishing in an instant.

"Until we decide how best to proceed however, you will perform your duties as a Slayer. You will train with me daily, and patrol regularly at night. Ah, here we are." He opened a large wooden door, holding it for her as she stepped through. "Make yourself comfortable, and try and get some rest. You've got a busy day ahead of you tomorrow." The door slammed shut with such force that it caused Faith to jump. She smiled slightly. What had she expected? Flowers? Gushing sentimentality and warm greetings telling her they were glad she was free at last? She'd never made their lives anything but a misery.

Slowly she wandered through the room. It was a typical hotel suite, fairly old fashioned but workable as a place to stay. She slumped tiredly onto the bed as thoughts ran through her mind. A fresh pang of guilt surged up as she thought of what Wesley had just said about the duties of a Slayer. Before the coma she'd never really taken them seriously. She'd loved the strength and power that came with them, but had conveniently managed to ignore the responsibilities that the power entailed. It was only when she'd got the chance to see how Buffy dealt with the power, to glimpse into her world that she had truly felt the weight of that responsibility, and it was then that she'd first felt the real guilt. She'd felt it before, but that moment as she sprinted across Sunnydale in desperate attempt to reach the church filled with vampires, was the moment it had truly hit her. What her purpose in life was, was a protector. She wasn't a killer, wasn't a merciless hunter, she was a guardian, fighting to protect life. That revelation had scared her so much that she'd run, as far and as fast as she could, and it had brought her to LA, where she'd hidden from the responsibility she felt pressing down on her. But she hadn't been able to hide from the guilt. It had found her and pushed her to the brink of her sanity. In the end though, she'd found a way out, or at least she'd thought she had. Prison hadn't exactly been a laugh a minute, but it had been something of a relief to be free of that feeling of responsibility. Now the ball was over, the hall closed, and she had nowhere left to dance. 

She closed her eyes as she shuffled uncomfortably on the overly soft bed. She had nowhere left to run. Her options were gone. It was time she lived up to her responsibilities instead of running away from them. It was time she became the Slayer. 

With a faintly satisfied smile still warming her face, Faith drifted into sleep.    


	6. Foreshadow

Chapter Five 

Foreshadow

_The desert sun seared the skin of the two girls who strode confidently across the crest of a huge dune, its sandy slopes rippling in the heat haze. Buffy and Faith moved with silent purpose, neither one speaking as they moved. The world around them seemed to be waiting with baited breath to see what each of them would do next. Buffy knelt to examine the clear footprints in the sand, the tread of heavy boots clear to even the untrained eye. Alongside them, the padded imprints of a large four-legged creature. Faith reached up and stroked at her animals. A small white dove nestled calmly on her left shoulder, a large dark raven shifting agitatedly on her right. Both rustled their feathers at her touch. _

_"What do you see?" she asked. _

_"He's this way." Said Buffy distantly. Slowly the blonde Slayer straightened, raising her arm as she did so. A large cat with long shaggy fur leapt easily onto her outstretched arm, climbing skilfully up it to wrap itself languorously around her shoulders. She smiled as she stroked the animal. It let out a deep rumbling purr, its whiskers twitching with satisfaction. _

_"We should be moving." Said Faith. "He needs our help."_

_"It would be quicker if we could fly." Said Buffy, shooting Faith a disgusted look. "You're holding me back." Faith ignored her and started walking again. The two Slayers tramped steadily along the dune, following the tracks that lead across the desert. As they moved, the sun crawled higher into the sky, its heated rays beating down on them as the day lengthened. The rippling heat haze filled their view as they moved across the sand._

_ Slowly the sun began to sink toward the horizon, bathing the landscape in a beautiful orange glow that seemed to flow like liquid. The beauty of the scene was lost on the two Slayers as they continued to walk across the desert. Gradually, a shape began to appear on the horizon toward which the sun was sinking. As they drew closer it loomed ever larger. It was a pyramid. Faith stopped when she realised Buffy wasn't following her any more. She turned her head. _

_"Aren't you coming?" she asked. _

_"I've been here before." Said the other Slayer, staring past her at the ominous stones. _

_"Then you should go first." Faith said. Buffy shook her head, causing the cat that lurked on her shoulders to stir slightly. _

_"I can't. He's already gone ahead." She pointed in the direction of the tracks. Faith turned, following the direction of Buffy's outstretched finger. A tall man with a long ponytail and a huge lion trotting at his heels was striding toward the pyramid. _

_"He can't go in there." She said, watching as he drew to the building. "We've got to stop him." Buffy shook her head. _

_"I can't do anything. I've already helped him. Now it's your turn." Faith turned and sprinted down the dune toward the distant figure, her feet slipping and sliding in the loose sand. The birds on her shoulders beat their wings, lifting into the air and easily keeping pace with her. _

_"Hey!" she yelled, trying to get his attention. The lion paused for a moment, turning its head to gaze at her for a moment before turning away and continuing toward the pyramid. The man didn't even stop. A shadow flitted over her as she ran. Glancing up, she caught sight of Buffy, soaring past her with huge feathery wings beating the air steadily._

_"You won't reach him Faith." She said as she flew gracefully overhead. "Not unless you spread your wings." _

_"I've told you I don't have wings!" Faith yelled. "I need your help Buffy! Please help me!" Buffy shook her head as she arced away from the pyramid. _

_"Spread your wings Faith." She said one last time, before she disappeared into the gathering dusk. Faith put her head down and ran, her feet pounding the sand as she desperately strove to reach the stranger. She ducked her head low and charged, feeling the light breeze whip at her clothes as she ran. Slowly, inch by inexorable inch, she drew closer. _

_"Stop!" she yelled again. "You can't!" This time the man turned to look back at her. _

_"I don't have a choice." He said as he walked forward. "There is nothing I can do." Faith ignored him, sprinting desperately toward him. She wasn't going to reach him in time. Suddenly her foot struck against something, sending her tumbling in the sand. Desperately she clambered back to her feet glancing back to see what she had tripped on. A large crossbow, primed to fire was nestled in the sand as if it had always belonged there. She reached down and swept it up into her arms. Levelling it, she steadily took her aim. Was she strong enough? The birds settled back onto her shoulders and began to shuffle uneasily. Her finger began to close around the trigger. Was she strong enough? Sweat began to bead on her forehead. Was she strong enough? Slowly, she removed her finger, lowering the crossbow. The dove on her left let out an ear-piercing screech and beat its wings, lifting itself into the sky, before vanishing off into the sky. _

_With a groan of despair, Faith tossed the crossbow aside and ran after the man again. He was too close now and she was too far away. There was no way she could reach him in time. With the sound of grinding stone, a door slid open in the side of the pyramid. The man was walking straight toward it and the ominous darkness that lay beyond. _

_"Please stop!" she yelled. "You can't go in there!" He looked at her again. _

_"I told you, I don't have a choice." He turned away again, as she continued to sprint for him. "Help me." He said. _

_"I can't!" she shouted desperately. "I'm not strong enough!" but before she could finish he had stepped through the door, the darkness swallowing him._

_Faith skidded to a halt, and watched as the door slid shut, sealing the stranger within. Almost imperceptibly, the pyramid began to tremble as a dark fluid began to pour out from between the stones. Cautiously she took a step forward, reaching out to touch the liquid. It was blood. She could feel it lapping at her feet where she stood. Looking down, she saw it raising steadily up her body. Glancing around she could see it all over the desert, a huge lake of blood rising steadily up her body. The thick liquid oozed up her, reaching her waist. She tried to move but the blood was too thick. She could feel it pressing against her chest now. _

_She looked over at the raven settled on her right shoulder. It stared back at her without blinking. Then the blood closed over her head and she couldn't breathe._

*****

Faith sat up in the bed, her breathing rapid and panicked. She gulped in huge lung fulls of air, desperately trying to breathe. It took her a few moments to realise that she wasn't drowning. Slowly she looked around the room. This was no desert. It was the hotel room. She clambered out of the bed, wiping the sweat that had beaded on her forehead away with the back of her hand. She crossed to the window, smoothing out her rumpled clothes as she moved over to gaze out of the window. She must have slept for most of the day. Outside the sun was sinking behind the buildings and the first street lights were beginning to flicker into life. 

She groaned slightly as she knuckled her forehead. She could feel a headache coming on and her heart was beating fast. 

"What a dream." She muttered. 

Outside the darkness began to gather. 

*****

Buffy groaned at the memories of the dream. Her head felt like it was going to explode, a throbbing pain shooting across the surface of her mind, and her arms felt numb. Instinctively she flexed her wrists trying to get some more circulation flowing through them. The manacles that bound them above her head just bit deeper into her flesh. She grunted slightly as she tested their strength for what seemed like the hundredth time. As usual, they staunchly refused to so much as bend. 

"Just great." She hissed to herself. Suddenly the door in front of her swung open, letting a bright white light into the otherwise darkened room. A strange figure stepped into the light for the briefest of moments, his whole body silhouetted in the light. He stood perfectly still, almost as if he was surveying her. 

"And what the hell do you want?" she demanded rattling her chains in what she hoped was a threatening manner. The man didn't move. He just stood there. Watching. 

"Where am I?" she hissed. "What do you want with me?" she didn't expect him to answer and she wasn't disappointed. He stood for a moment longer before turning away, closing the door behind him and plunging Buffy back into darkness.

*****

King's throne was shrouded in shadow. Outside the last rays of sunlight were sinking behind the horizon and soon he would be able to move again. He needed exercise. He should never have been shot. Before Buffy had done this to him he'd never have let something like that happen. Those punks would have been on the floor and bleeding to death before they'd even raised the weapon. 

For a moment, the memory of the dream flashed through his mind. The Slayer was messing with his head she had to be. As if this soul wasn't torture enough, now she had come up with some delightful new way to make his life that much more unbearable. But who was the other girl? He'd never seen her before in his life. He'd seen someone like her though. 

"Soonan." He whispered quietly to himself. A single tear ran slowly down his face as he reached up to stroke gently at the tattoo next to his eye.

"I miss you." He said to the darkness. There was no answer. Slowly he clambered out of the chair and disappeared into the gathering dark of the warehouse.

*****

Lilah watched the strange man as he seated himself before the orbs on the floor, his legs crossed beneath each other. Each orb glowed with a strange unearthly light and if she concentrated hard enough she could just make out the images of the three figures in them as they flittered back and forth. It was like watching them through fog. She could barely make out which was which as they moved through the swirling clouds that filled each shimmering globe. 

She smiled at the sight of the three of them, each one totally oblivious of the part they had to play, just as clueless as the one who sat before her now. It was a plan that none of them knew the full extent of, save her and her superiors. She fed them their incentives then watched as they jumped through her hoops. She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully as she stared at the one in front of her. He was different to those three in the crystal balls. He saw things with a dispassionate eye and she was sure he suspected something of the firms overall plans. 

"So…" she said, rolling the word off her tongue. "How's our guest?" The man didn't even glance up from the crystal balls. 

"She's not our guest. She's our prisoner, and she is exactly how we left her, bound and locked in the depths of this place."

"Have you always been this humourless?" she asked, slanting an eyebrow at him quizzically. 

"Humour is human trait that you use to conceal your failings. I have none, therefore I have no reason for such a defence." Lilah stared at him, a look of disbelief spreading across her face. She'd never heard anyone say something so seemingly arrogant with so little emotion. His voice had been flat and steady, as if he was simply stating fact.

"You think you're perfect?" she said slowly.

"I'm close enough. Among my kind there is only one more true than I." Lilah shook her head. How could someone so convinced of his own superiority still be bound by an oath he had sworn centuries ago? He was so sure of himself and yet he served under someone. She had to wonder where his loyalties would lie if it came down to him to make a choice.

"How much longer are you going to wait before you make your move? If we wait any longer the window we have to perform the ritual will be gone. We need to act soon." For the first time since he'd entered the room he looked up at her. 

"For once I believe you're right. I'll make my move soon enough, and then you'll have what you have been waiting for." 

"Just hurry up and do it!" She said exasperatedly, turning on her heel and striding out of the office, slamming the door behind her. The strange man continued to sit cross-legged, surrounded by the darkness.  


	7. Driving and Dusting

Chapter Six 

Driving and Dusting

"Harris."

"Yeah Spike?"

"I hate you." Spike muttered from underneath the mound of blankets where he was smoking softly. The sun was almost down but what light there was, was still enough to cause him to sizzle. He gritted his teeth at the dull throbbing pain that the sunlight brought to him.

"In case you've forgotten Spike, this whole little daylight drive was your idea." Said Xander from where he was seated in the front of the car. "You said we didn't have time to waste and that we needed to get moving as soon as possible." 

"I thought you might argue with me. Spike does the heroic thing, offering to become a crispy kebab so that we can move as soon as possible and you're supposed to stop him from being such a damn fool!" Spike said, his voice rising as a fresh surge of pain shot through him. Why had he been such and idiot? He shook his head slightly. Love made you do the daftest things and when combined with a nasty feeling of guilt about the fact that the woman you love died because of your own failure, it made it that much harder not to do something completely stupid like volunteer for suicide. 

Outside the streets of LA slid by in a whirl of colour and shimmering glass. It had taken them a few hours to get here, but Buffy was in this city somewhere and Spike wasn't leaving until he found her. 

"How much further?" he asked. Willow peered out at the city streets from where she sat alongside Xander.

"I'm not entirely sure." She said, staring at the city as it flew by. "I've only been here once before, and I was kind of preoccupied at the time." 

"Don't worry." Said Xander, glancing at her for a moment with a reassuring smile, before returning his attention to the road again. "We'll find them, even if we have to drive all night long.

"Do you think Angel can help us?" asked Dawn from where she was seated next to Spike in the back of the car. None of them had wanted to bring her. They were certain that this was going to be a dangerous trip, but it had been difficult to dissuade her. In the end, Buffy was her sister, and apart from their father, the only true family Dawn had left. She had as much right to be here as anyone. 

"Don't worry Little Bit." Said Spike, reaching out to comfort her from beneath the smouldering mountain of blankets. "This is Angel's city. If anyone can help us find her, he can." Dawn shied away from his hand, studiously ignoring him. Slowly, he withdrew his arm back into the blankets. Dawn had been ignoring him since the night before when they'd been at the Magic Box. He wasn't sure why, but it was beginning to worry him. Out of all the people in Buffy's little gang, Spike had always got on with the young girl. There was something about her that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Perhaps it was her zest and her innocence that he liked. Whatever it was, he didn't think he could ever hurt her, which was why it hurt him so much to have her treat him like this.

As the car turned a sharp corner, the sun finally sank beneath the horizon. Spike shrugged the blankets off and stretched tiredly in his seat. God it felt like forever since he'd clambered under those stuffy sheets. He reached into his pockets and produced a dog-eared packet of cigarettes. He tapped it casually on his knee, one of the small sticks of tobacco sliding up, allowing him to grasp it with the tips of his fingers. Searching through his other pocket, he located his lighter and flicked at it until it sparked into life. The flame crackled steadily as he held it up to the tip of his cigarette, inhaling deeply as he attempted to get it to light. He took a deep drag on the cigarette, feeling the strong acrid smoke fill his lungs. 

"If you're going to do that, could you at least wind down a window?" said Xander. 

"You ought to try it some time Harris." He replied with a grin. "It's a great way to relieve stress. Something we could all do with right now." Xander just glanced at him, a look of annoyance on his face. Spike rolled his eyes. 

"Alright, alright." He said, winding down the window and flicking a generous quantity of ash out into the street. 

"I think its somewhere down here." Said Willow, ignoring the two of them. The car turned another corner and continued on into the city.

*****

Faith edged quietly down the plush carpeted stairs of the hotel, listening intently for any sound from the lobby. There was nothing save a soft mumbling sound. Cautiously she poked her head around the corner of one of the support pillars. There was no one in the lobby she could see from here but she could still hear the soft mutterings from somewhere near the reception desk. 

"Angel?" she called softly. The muttering continued. Slowly she stepped down the stairs, treading softly so as not to be too loud on the hard lobby floor. The muttering was more distinct now. It was a woman's voice, words tumbling out in a nervous ramble that seemed to flow without pause for thought. Eyes narrowing, Faith took a step toward where the sound was coming from. If she was right, whoever was mumbling to themselves was sat _underneath_ the reception desk. Resting her arms easily on the desk, Faith pulled herself forward, head hanging upside down so that she could see who it was. 

A girl not much older than herself was sat on the floor, her slim legs tucked neatly beneath her as she twirled a lock of soft brown hair nervously between her fingers. She wore a pair of wire framed glasses and clutched a pen tightly in her other hand. She was scribbling away at a pad of paper as if her life depended on it. To Faith what she was writing seemed to be complete nonsense. A complex series of mathematical symbols and equations spread over reams of paper that were scattered haphazardly around her. Faith couldn't make head nor tail of it. She had difficulty with long division and this stuff was most definitely beyond her. The girls lips were moving with each new thing she scrawled, her words as much of a jumble as what was spilling out onto the paper

"Hey there." Faith said softly so as not to alarm the girl. It didn't work. The girl glanced up, her eyes widening to a point where Faith thought they were going to roll right out as her mouth opened in a cry of alarm. She threw her hands into the air as she tumbled backward in surprise, sending her pages of scrawl flying through the air. Faith dropped back away from the desk allowing the woman to calm herself a little. 

"You okay?" she asked, as the young woman's head poked nervously up to stare around the room warily. 

"Y…y…you're Faith right?" the girl said, her voice carrying a heavy Texan twang to it. Without warning she shook her head violently. "No, no, no. Stupid question. Of course you are, course you are." The girl straightened to her full height, amazing Faith with just how small she actually was. She extended a thin wrist nervously, hand open. Faith eyed her for a moment before taking the girls hand in her own and shaking it cautiously. 

"Yeah." She said slowly, as she tried to figure the girl out. "I'm Faith, and you are?"

"Me?" the girl said, withdrawing her hand rattlesnake fast and pointing at herself. "Me? I'm… I'm…" she rubbed nervously at her forehead with the base of her palm. 

"I'm Fred… yep, Fred. That's me." Faith felt a slight smile twitch at the corner of her mouth. She liked this girl. 

"So Fred," she said, folding her arms and leaning nonchalantly against the desk, "you got any idea where I can find Angel?" 

"Angel isn't here… nope, somewhere else but not here. Told me to tell you something though." She disappeared out of sight behind the table. Faith leaned further forward, trying to see Fred as she went about collecting her papers up from the floor. 

"What were you supposed to tell me?" Faith asked curiously. "And where is he exactly?" she added.

"Cordelia…" Fred said, pausing as she squinted at one of her pages. "Cordelia had one of her… her…" she began to twist that same lock of her hair nervously between her fingers as she thought. 

"She sees things." She said finally, shuffling the papers as she stood back up, readying her pen for more scribble. "Angel uses them to find people who need help. Cordelia saw something and they all went. It's just me here now. They don't like taking me along. Afraid I'll get in the way." Her pen started racing again, tracing out an intricate formula. 

"And what were you supposed to tell me?" Faith asked, pushing Fred further. 

"Huh?" said Fred glancing distractedly at her, clearly losing interest already. 

"Angel." Said Faith, a slight sound of exasperation touching her voice. Fred wasn't the easiest person to try and get answers out of. For a brief moment, the urge to pummel the young woman flashed through her mind. She quickly suppressed the urge. It wasn't who she was anymore. 

"He gave you a message to give to me." She continued. "What was it?" 

"Oh… yeah… he told me to tell you to stay put and that you'd talk when he got back." Faith shrugged.

"Figures." She said as she turned away. She was about to seat herself in the couch at the centre of the lobby when the main doors to the hotel crashed open and a tall black man that Faith had never seen before strode into the building. He carried himself with a confident swagger that Faith hadn't seen in a while. She'd learned to be careful around people like him. They were usually hotheads.

"Angel!" he yelled, as he hurried across the lobby. "Wesley! Cordelia! Anyone here!" Faith glanced over at Fred who was waving her arm in the air.

"Us Gunn! We're here!" the tall man turned round to catch sight of her.

"Gunn!" Faith mouthed soundlessly to herself in disbelief. His name was Gunn!

"Hey Fred." He said. "You seen Angel round here?" Fred shook her head. 

"He… he's not here." She pointed rapidly between herself and Faith. "Just us two." 

"You two?" said the man who called himself Gunn, turning and catching sight of Faith for the first time. 

"Hi…" she said uncertainly. "I'm Faith."

"Faith huh. You were the chick in prison right? The one Angel keeps visiting. He know you're out?" Faith nodded.

"Of course." Gunn gave a slight shrug as he crossed over to behind the reception desk and began opening drawers and rifling along shelves.

"That's cool. I'm Gunn by the way."

"I heard. What do you want Angel for?" Gunn looked her up and down then shook his head. 

"Nothing you could help me with. I need some muscle on this one, not an expert in eyeliner and leather pants." Faith raised an eyebrow at him. Angel had obviously never told him just what she was. Gunn didn't see the gesture. He'd already turned away to hunt through another set of drawers. 

"Fred, you know where Cordy put my fighting axe?" Fred glanced up from where she was sitting, already back to scribbling her nonsense. She pushed the glasses she wore back up onto the bridge of her nose and sniffed. 

"She locked it in the basement with the others." She said gesturing toward a door on the edge of Faiths vision. 

"She did what!" said Gunn, a look of disbelief on his face. "That thing cost me two hundred bucks from an antique store and she's got it down in that dingy place, rusting and collecting dust!" 

"I… I don't think she appreciated you and Wesley smashing her new vase when you were sparring." Fred stuttered nervously then shrugged. "You know how she is."

"Guess I'll just have to go with these then." He said, swiping up a handful of knifes and stakes into a duffle bag he'd grabbed from under the reception desk. Faith smiled at the sight of the stakes. 

"You tooling up for an evenings vampire hunting?" she asked. Gunn froze and her smile widened. He really didn't know what she was. 

"Who told you…" 

"Oh please." Said Faith simply stepping round to join him behind the reception desk. "I've been fighting vampires since before you could shave." she grabbed a stake from the bag, twirling it gracefully between her fingers before tucking it into the back of her leather pants. Suddenly, for the first time in a long while, she felt right. The familiarity of the wood grain, the shape of the stake in her hand, it was all how it was meant to be. Gunn was simply staring at her in amazement. 

"You…" he began, then swallowed and started again. "You look like you've done this before."

"Being in prison might have made me a little rusty, but vampire slaying's like riding a bike. Once you've learned it's hard to forget." Gunn stared at her for a moment before finally giving a resigned shrug.

"I suppose two heads are better than one." Faith grinned.

"So let's get going. It's been a while since I've been dusting." The two of them made there way toward the doors. Just before they reached them, Gunn turned to Fred. 

"When Angel comes back, tell him we're heading out to the old Warehouse district off Remington street. If he wants a piece of the action, he'll come and help out." Fred nodded vigorously. 

"Will do." She smiled before turning back to her scribbling. 

With that the two of them turned and strode out of the doors to the hotel.


	8. The First Night

Chapter Seven 

The First Night

Lilah sat behind her desk, the pen clenched between her fingertips so tightly that the blood was draining from them. She ground her teeth against the ever-present sound of steel being scraped against stone. He'd been at it for half an hour now, seated cross-legged in front of those damned crystal balls of his, dragging the blade of his sword along the rounded edges of the whetstone. Each pass with the blade resulted in a shower of sparks as the steel scraped loudly across the hard surface.

"Are you quite finished?" she asked loudly over the sound of the blade. 

"I am preparing." He said without looking up. Lilah rolled her eyes. 

"Couldn't you just prepare somewhere else?" 

"Your company stated that they would provide me with everything I need." He paused for a moment, glancing round the room. "I need this office." Lilah stared at his back, his almost square shoulders were completely motionless. 

"Why do you need my office?" 

"I have my reasons." Lilah shook her head. She'd worked long and hard to get her hands on this position and one of the first things that happened when she finally obtained this coveted position and the office that came with it was to have it hired out to the first creature of the night to walk through the door. Sometimes she felt that this whole Wolfram & Hart thing had been a bad idea. Then she remembered her pay cheque and the other rewards that it could reap and she decided maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all. 

"Just fulfil your task. My employers would be most displeased if you were to fail." She didn't even see him move. One moment he was seated, legs crossed, the next he had her held against the wall, his hand clenched tightly around her throat. She could feel his fingers tightening, cutting off the flow of air to her lungs. 

"Do you know what it is to be one of us?" he snarled darkly. "Do you know what it is to drain the life's blood from someone?" his face was split by a smile of ecstasy.

"It is power, pure unreasoning power, and it is a gift that my master saw fit to bestow upon me. For this tremendous gift, I owe him a debt that I can never repay. You would do well to remember that before opening that pretty mouth of yours again." Lilah's vision began to swim drunkenly in front of her. She tried desperately to draw breath and gagged as his fingers tightened still further. 

"Do not confuse my necessity for the aid of your firm with loyalty. I am loyal only to my master." With his free hand he reached up and raked a surprisingly sharp fingernail down her cheek. Lilah winced at the pain and felt a trickle of blood flow freely from the cut.

"A memento." He smiled. "Do not become so confused next time." With that he turned and sat back down, snatching up his sword and dragging loudly across the stone once more. Lilah gulped in huge breaths of air, desperately trying to catch up for the time she'd gone without it. She reached up and touched gently at her aching throat. It was going to bruise badly. 

Holding her hand to her cheek, she crossed silently back over to her desk and sat down again. She could feel the blood oozing steadily from the cut. For such a small thing it was surprisingly painful. Sitting back at her desk, she glared steadily at his back. She was growing to detest this vampire already. She just hoped all this was over soon. 

After another fifteen minutes he stopped sharpening the stone. He slid the sword back into its sheath that had lain discarded on the floor and clambered to his feet, tucking the grindstone into the folds of his coat.

"What are you doing?" she said, surprised at how hoarse her voice sounded. 

"I am leaving." He said simply. "It's time I made my move." He turned on his heel and strode out of the room. As the door swung quietly closed behind him, Lilah breathed a sigh of relief.

*****

Angel hunted through the glove box of his convertible for a fresh tissue as he, Wesley and Cordelia rolled up in front of the hotel. This Greknak demon blood was an absolute bitch to shift. He frowned at that thought. Being around Cordelia must be beginning to wear off on him.

"Well that was definitely interesting." Said Wesley, wiping the thick luminous green sludge from his forehead with the back of his hand. "Perhaps next time Cordelia, you could have a vision that didn't involve a creature that bleeds corrosive bile." 

"You think I get a choice in the visions department?" said Cordelia, rubbing hard at a splat of green blood on the knees of her pants. "Or maybe you'd like to have them instead. You could feel like someone was pouring hot lava into your skull, and I could just stand around and complain about what you saw." Angel rolled his eyes. Incessant bickering was something that happened a lot round here. Sometimes it was amusing and others it was just plain annoying. This time it was the latter. He was going to have to have a serious talk with Faith about what was going on and this was the last thing he needed right now. He clambered out of the car, leaving Wesley and Cordelia to jabber on at one another. 

He strode slowly up the steps and through the front door of the hotel into the lobby to be greeted by Fred's ceaseless muttering. He smiled slightly. Fred's unusual manner had certainly ingratiated her to the gang and he was already finding it hard to imagine life at Angel Investigations without her. 

"Fred?" he said softly, not wishing to alarm her. The girl practically sprang to her feet, nearly slamming her head hard against the reception desk. 

"A…Angel!" she stuttered nervously. "I… I didn't hear you come in. Everything go alright?" Angel smiled.

"As well as can be expected. We killed the demon," he glanced down at himself, "and got a little messed up as I'm sure you can tell." 

"You want me to run you a bath or something?" Fred said a tad too eagerly, her cheeks plunging to a deep shade of scarlet as she realised what she had just said. 

"No, that's alright." Said Angel, pretending not to notice her embarrassment. 

"Is Faith up yet? I want to talk to her." 

"Oh, she's gone already." Said Fred, chewing uncertainly on the end of her pen. 

"She's what!" Wesley's voice sounded from the direction of the hotel doors. 

"Fred, when did she go?" Angel snapped, a touch more forcefully than was necessary. 

"And where? Did she tell you anything?" Wesley was at Angel's side, the same note of forcefulness ringing in his voice. Fred recoiled slightly under the barrage of questions, her pen slipping from between her fingers and clattering loudly against the floor tiles.  

"D… Di… Did I say something wrong?" she said, bending to retrieve the pen. Angel shook his head, suddenly realising what he had just done. 

"No Fred," he said slowly, "you haven't said anything wrong."

"It's just that, well, Faith is a very dangerous young woman." Said Wesley, "Not only that but she is not entirely trust worthy either. Now Angel and I have agreed to help her in what she has chosen to do, but that also means that we have to keep a very close eye on her, until we are sure that we can trust her again. That's why we need to know when she left and where she went."

"Oooohhhhhhh!" said Fred slowly, the word rolling off her tongue as she spoke. "She went with Gunn."

"Gunn!" Angel and Wesley chorused, their surprise equal. 

"Where did they go?" Angel continued. 

"Gunn said they were going to Remington Street. It looked like they were going to kill some vampires, what with the knives and wooden stakes'n all. Are you sure it's not something I said?" 

"They went vampire hunting!" said Wesley. Angel was frowning. Remington Street? He'd heard that name before, but he wasn't sure where from. His mind raced as he tried to think of where he'd heard the name before. Suddenly it clicked. 

"Oh no!" he groaned, scrubbing his hand through his hair. 

"What?" said Wesley, rounding on him. "What is it?" 

"They're going to Remington Street." Said Angel. He turned on his heel and strode back out of the front door toward his car. He had no time to lose.

"Definitely something I said." He heard Fred mutter to herself before the door closed behind him.

"What's so special about Remington Street?" said Wesley, following him to the car. 

"Do you remember about two months ago, I told you about a vampire who came here claiming he had a soul just like me?" Wesley nodded as the two of them clambered back into the car. 

"Of course I remember." He said as if Angel was insulting his intelligence. "It's not every day a vampire turns up with such an unusual story." 

"Well, Remington Street is where he lives." Said Angel, twisting his key in the ignition, causing the vehicle to surge into life. "More precisely he lives in an abandoned warehouse district just off Remington. It's quite near Gunn's territory. He must've got wind that there was a new vampire in the area, and you know how he gets with that kind of thing." The car reversed expertly away from the hotel, skidding in the gravel as Angel coaxed it into a full one eighty. 

"Yes." Said Wesley, his tone thoughtful. "But didn't you tell me that this vampire was somewhat renowned among your kind." Angel gave a dry chuckle. 

"He's more than just renowned Wesley. King's legendary. Among vampires, he's held up as being the ideal to which we should all aspire. It'd been decades since I'd even heard him mentioned as anything more than a fairytale when he turned up at my door." He said as he pulled out into the never-ending stream of LA traffic.

"But I'm sure Gunn can handle himself." Said Wesley, a note of mock confidence in his voice that he obviously did not feel. "And he has Faith with him. Who better to take into the home of a super vampire than a crazed Vampire Slayer?"

"Wesley," Angel said, twisting the wheel sharply as he swerved between two slower vehicles, "King isn't just your common vamp with delusions of glory. If half the legends are true, he could take out Gunn in a heartbeat and Faith, Slayer though she is, wouldn't fare much better." 

"Well then…" said Wesley slowly, "…you'd better step on it." 

Angel obliged.

*****

Faith crouched in the shadows nearby, watching as Gunn rattled the chain that bound the gates to the warehouse district shut. She hadn't felt this alive in a long time, the thrill of the hunt causing adrenaline to surge through her veins, her breathing steady and even, her senses incredibly acute. She doubted there was more than one other person on Earth who knew just how this felt. Nothing else she had ever experienced had ever come close to the incredible feelings of both utter peace and complete readiness she experienced when on the hunt. Even the first time she had taken a human life was nothing to this. 

She felt something stir within her at the thought of when she had accidentally staked the deputy mayor of Sunnydale. It had been the first life she had taken, the first myriad of possibilities snuffed out by her hand. It had been amazing when she'd finally admitted what she had felt to herself. She'd felt powerful, invincible even. They were feelings she had once revelled in, but now those same feelings terrified her. Desperately she pushed the feelings back into the pit of her stomach and went back to concentrating on where Gunn was testing the chain. 

"Locked?" she asked quietly

"Tight." Replied Gunn. "Looks like we'll have to go over." Faith gave him a slanted grin. 

"And here was me thinking you were going to come up with something challenging." She said, crossing to the fence and shimmying up it as if it were a simple ladder. As she dropped silently down the other side, she caught sight of Gunn staring at her open mouthed.

"Don't tell me you thought that should be hard!" she said, her voice quietly amazed. 

"Not hard." said Gunn, gripping the fence tightly and hoisting himself up and over with considerably less grace. "Just not so simple." He said as he dropped heavily to the ground alongside her.

"How did you find out about this guy anyway?" Faith asked as the two of them darted into the shadows of one of the warehouses. "I mean, from the looks of this place he doesn't go round advertising the fact that he's here."

"There's a major pusher lives locally by the name of Garcia. Word has it that a couple of his men took a nasty beating in this district last night when they crossed a guy carrying a box full of blood. The guy claimed this place was his now and that he'd kill anyone he saw trespassing. Supposedly took a bullet and never broke stride."

"So where exactly does he live in here anyway?" asked Faith, staring down the row of buildings. "I count ten warehouses. Could take us a while to search them all."

"Might not have to." Said Gunn, pointing toward one of the buildings. "Take a look." Faith frowned as she allowed her gaze to follow the direction of his outstretched finger. 

The moon was riding low in the sky, its dull silvery light shining into one of the warehouses and filling it with a cold grey glow. When she squinted, Faith could just make out fleeting glimpses of a shadow flitting gracefully along the walls within. She stared at the warehouse number.

"Looks like we choose door number three." She said softly. Gunn grinned. 

"My thoughts exactly." He said. Together, the two of them crept silently across the potholed tarmac toward the shadowy warehouse. 

*****

From a nearby rooftop that over looked the warehouse district, the strange figure scratched slightly at the black bladed sword tattoo that marked his forearm. It was the second time in as many nights that he'd come here, but at least for once that snivelling lawyer wasn't dogging his every move. He was beginning to question his own wisdom of getting involved with them. In the end though, he hadn't had much of a choice. They were the only ones of whom he knew who possessed the ancient rites and rituals he needed to fulfil his plan. 

His eyes narrowed as he watched the dark haired Slayer and her comrade dart stealthily out from the shadows of one of the warehouses to the one in which he knew their target dwelt. He had already watched the two of them arrive and test the fence before climbing over it without a modicum of subtlety. He shook his head in disgust. He'd expected more from the Slayer, even if this one wasn't as renowned as the one currently imprisoned beneath that twisted place that called itself a law firm. A den of decadent and power mad humans, determined to further themselves in any way possible was closer to the truth. His lips twisted up in a snarl of contempt as he thought about the whole miserable lot of them. They were nothing to him. No, less than nothing and he would delight in taking the whole place apart one person at a time once his business with them was concluded.

"Grachus!" he said, turning to face one of his three favourites who stood behind him. "Go get the others. We move soon." Grachus nodded and hurried off into the depths of the building. 

The stranger turned back and stared at down at the two little flies as they scuttled hurriedly into the spiders web. A dark smile split his lips, revealing a brilliant set of white teeth. He scratched at the tattoo on his arm again. It was time to pay his master a visit. 


	9. Many Meetings

**Chapter Eight**

**Many Meetings**

The small side door to the warehouse slid silently open, disturbing the thick layers of dust that coated the entire room beyond. A sliver of silver moonlight spilled in, casting long eerie shadows as Faith stepped quietly through, her whole body tense and ready for action. She paused, half in, half out the doorway, her eyes flickering back and forth as she took in her surroundings. The interior of the warehouse was disturbingly silent, the only sound to be heard coming from occasional traffic on the road outside. It was so dark she could barely see more than a few feet in front of her, and the dust in the air was almost stifling.

Slowly she slipped the rest of the way inside, all along cursing the darkness inside her head. This was like a blind man taking on a guy with twenty-twenty vision in broad daylight. One sided to say the least. Behind her, she heard Gunn step quietly in through the door. 

"You see anything?" he whispered. In the darkness, Faith could just make out the stake he was clutching. 

"Not a damned thing." She said frustratedly, shaking her head as she did so. Not saying another word she slipped off into the darkness. If there was a vampire in here, he probably already knew they were inside. That pesky business of them being nocturnal gave them excellent low light vision. 

As she turned her head to take in her surroundings again, a light flicked on at the other side of the warehouse. The warm glow spilled out through a doorway at the top of a cast iron set of stairs. The door seemed to be the entrance to a large set of rooms that overlooked the main warehouse through a series of windows. If she screwed her eyes up tight enough she could just make out a shadow moving up there.

"Looks like we found my new neighbour." Said Gunn, his sharp grin seeming to shine in the blackness. "Do you reckon we should pay him a nice neighbourly visit?"

"Would be rude not to say hi." Faith shrugged as she crept toward the stairs. 

As they crept quietly across the warehouse, Faith couldn't help but let her mind wander. It had been so long since she'd been on the hunt she'd almost forgotten what it was like. As the familiar feelings of adrenaline, excitement and, dare she even think it, fear grew within her so too did memories of previous hunts. That time down in Florida was one of the first to spring to mind. God it had been hot that summer. She hadn't been lying when she'd told Buffy and the others she'd been sleeping nude. It had been the only way to cool down in that blast furnace heat. The memory of wrestling the alligator flashed to the surface. Now that had been fun, none of the planning or the posturing of fighting against a vamp, just the pure adrenaline fuelled desperation it had taken to stay out from between those car crusher jaws. She patted her pocket gently. She'd never told anyone, but she had secretly held on to one of the things teeth. It was kind of a dorky thing to do, taking a good luck charm from something that had nearly eaten your face off, but then, Faith had never looked at things quite the same way as everyone else, especially after she had been chosen as the Slayer.

The stairs rattled slightly as she placed her foot on them. She winced invisibly at the sound, pausing to see if anyone appeared. There was nothing. With a brief sigh of relief she started up the stairs again, more cautiously this time. 

The rooms at the top were flooded with light. The shadows cast by the warm glow span gently as the lamp swung slowly from side to side above Faith and Gunn's heads. Cautiously, the two of them moved from room to room, scanning each one for any sign of their – so far – invisible quarry. As they came to the last room, Faith caught sight of a brief flicker of movement. She reached up with her arm, grabbing him and swinging him out of sight of the doorway. A look of surprise spread across his face at just how strong she was. He was about to speak when she reached up and clamped her hand across his mouth, shushing him with her free hand. He nodded and she released him. 

She peered round the doorframe, gazing into the room beyond. A man was stood at the centre of a large room, the walls around him lined with glistening decorations of gold and other jewel encrusted pieces. Faith was no scholar but even she could recognise an Egyptian sarcophagus when she saw one. A large high backed chair with cushioned arm rests sat imperiously at the far side of the room, a securely boarded up window at its back that no moonlight could penetrate. The man was topless, his whole chiselled figure moving through various fighting forms with an eerie grace that only someone with decades of experience could possess. A huge tattoo of a black bladed sword ran perfectly in line with his spine down to the small of his back. She frowned. She remembered that tattoo but she couldn't place where she'd seen it before. She watched, fascinated as he launched into a series of short, powerful elbow thrusts, before using the momentum of his final thrust to carry him onto his forward leg, swinging out with the other in a perfect roundhouse. His long ponytail whipped round with him, lashing loudly at the air as he settled back into his regular stance. 

"Check out the moves!" said Faith, stepping into the room and slipping easily into her hard ass persona at the same time. The vampire whirled around to face her, mild surprise registering on his face. Faith's eyes widened briefly before she managed to check herself. She'd seen him before! The chiselled pale face, a smaller version of the tattoo that covered his back sat uncomfortably close to his right eye. It was the man from her dreams!

"I'd ask you to teach me," she continued, her voice no longer as sure as it had been, "if it wasn't for the whole blood sucking fiend thing." The vampire cocked his head slightly as he regarded her, and for a brief moment, Faith thought she caught a flicker of recognition in his eyes as his mouth moved in a silent word. Faith frowned slightly. Had he just said Soonan? Had he recognised her from her dreams as well? How was that even possible, they'd been her dreams! Her dreams damn it! Hadn't they? 

"And I would've." the vampire said slowly as he stood watching her, his arms folded tightly across his chest, "if it wasn't for the whole breaking into my home and quite obviously threatening me thing." His tone was a mocking imitation of hers. For long moments the two of them stood facing each other in silence.

"Who sent you?" the vampire said finally. "That runt, Garcia? If you're the best he has, then I'll be doing him a favour when I rip your head off." Faith smiled sweetly, revealing her clean white teeth.

"I'm not that easy." She said innocently. The vampire's upper lip curled in a derisive sneer. 

"You look it." He said, his eyes roving over her. Faith glanced briefly over the vampire's shoulder, to see Gunn creeping in through another door at the far end of the room. The vampire was more observant than she'd thought he would be. He caught her glance and span on the spot to face the sneaking figure of Gunn. Cursing loudly, Faith charged the vamp. With a guttural snarl he snapped back to face her. Her arm lashed out in a rapid blow aimed straight for his face and already she felt satisfaction flow through her. There was no way he could react in time. Her face sagged in dismay when he did. His whole body moved so fast he was little more than a blur, as he ducked her punch and slipped inside her guard. She felt his hand close around the waistband of her leather pants while his other gripped tightly at her top. Using her own momentum against her, he heaved her bodily off the ground, flipping her wildly over him and slamming her hard against the ground. Her breath exploded out of her lungs as she hit the floor. Still not letting go, he lifted her easily off the ground and hurled her hard against the wall. She collapsed to one knee, gasping breathlessly as she looked up to see Gunn throw himself at the vampire, his stake lashing out for the creature's heart. Once again, the vampire blurred as he moved, slipping past Gunn, swinging out with his leg as he passed to catch the over balanced Gunn in the back as he sailed harmlessly by. The youth slammed headfirst into the nearby wall, his ankle snapping loudly as it failed to carry his weight. He slumped to the ground, a combination of the head blow and the broken ankle driving him into unconsciousness. Desperately, she clambered panting to her feet. Who the hell was this vamp? He was certainly stronger than your average bear. 

"Okay then Yoghi!" she muttered under her breath. "Let's see what you're really made of!" She dropped into her fighting stance, fists raised in front of her, one slightly higher than the other as she braced herself to attack. The vampire turned slowly to face her again. 

"So, you're still standing." He said, a slight look of surprise on his face. He cast a contemptuous glance toward Gunn's prone form. "Better than your friend here. But then again, that's not difficult."

"You'll find I'm full of surprises." She said, and then smiled darkly as she prepared to deliver the coup de grace. "Vampire Slayers always are." The vampire stared at her blankly. Faith groaned. 

"Oh c'mon man! How can you not have heard of the Slayer?" The vampire continued to stare at her as if she was growing another head. "We hunt your kind for God's sake! One dies the next is called'n all that!" 

"I know what the Slayer is." Said the vampire as he continued to stare at her. "I'm just trying to figure out why a little girl like you would lie like that. Pretending to be the Vampire Slayer is a dangerous game to play." 

"I'm not pretending!" said Faith, trying hard not stamp her foot indignantly. It didn't fit her image. "I _am_ the Slayer!" The vampire shook his head in denial. 

"Impossible. There can only be one Slayer at a time, and you're not the current Slayer." 

"You know Buffy!" said Faith, her voice rising in disbelief. This wasn't going according to plan! How could she intimidate the guy when he didn't believe her!

"All too well. Now explain to me why you've come here, pretending to be a Slayer of all things and are trying to kill me."

"Uh hey!" Faith said, raising her hand as if trying to get his attention. "Vampire Slayer standing in front of you and you're asking why I'm trying to kill you? Did you just skip logic for breakfast this morning?" The vampire's eyes narrowed and he was about to speak again when another voice that Faith had never heard before cut him off. 

"As much as I would enjoy to here this discussion go round and round in ever decreasing circles, I'm afraid I have deadlines to meet, so if you'd just let me finish this little disagreement the two of you have going…" Faith's head whipped around so fast she could have sworn she'd just given herself whiplash. A figure was emerging slowly from the darkness. He was a fairly small, oriental looking man, his hair long and loose, hung almost to his waist. He wore a long black coat with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, leaving his fore arms bare. He was handsome, in a slightly feminine way, with sharp blue eyes and a delicate milky complexion to his skin. If Faith squinted, she could just make out the hilt of a sword swinging at his hip. 

"Yes, she is the Slayer, and yes, I'm guessing she's here to kill you." The strange man continued as he moved. "But I can't allow her to do it master. My honour would not permit it." The vampire Faith had been fighting narrowed his eyes. 

"Is that…" he paused as he studied the man more closely. "Is that you Shinji?" A vague hint of a smile touched the new comers face.

"So you do remember me." He said slowly. "I was unsure of just how much you'd be able to remember after the spell had taken place. Souls can be unpredictable things for our kind to possess."

"You've got a soul!" Said Faith, not even trying to hide the incredulity in her voice.

"I remember everything." The vampire hissed, ignoring her. "Especially you!" for the first time, Faith heard a trace of disgust enter into the vampire's voice. Shinji frowned. 

"Have I displeased you in some way?" he said as he moved ever closer. 

"Only by living this long!" the vampire hissed. "I left you to burn in that city, along with all the others. You disgusted me."

"But you left me. You killed the rest and left me to spread your words. You will see that I have not been found wanting!" This time Shinji's smile was broad. "You allowed me to look back on what we had done, to see where we had gone wrong and after all this time I believe I've found the answer behind your words. It is an answer I plan to share with you!"

"And an answer I am no longer interested in hearing." snapped the vampire. Shinji nodded sagely. 

"I had a feeling you'd say something like that." Suddenly and without warning he dropped to one knee in front of the vampire. "I prostrate myself before you master, and beg you to reconsider your decision. You will not be disappointed, I swear!" The tall vampire shook his head. 

"I was always disappointed in you Shinji, but now I truly am disgusted by you. All these centuries and you still haven't learned a thing!" the vampire snarled contemptuously. Shinji glared at him as he straightened, his eyes like daggers of ice. 

"And who are you to judge me? I have stayed loyal to you for centuries while even you have abandoned yourself! I have spread your words and beliefs so widely among our kind that armies of us await your return, to lead us to a new way! The way you promised us!" he turned away slowly, his voice turning strangely sad. "So disappointing to find that after centuries of waiting, you have turned away from your rightful place among us." As he spoke, more figures began to emerge from the shadows, first one, then another and another and another. Faith's eyes widened in disbelief as at least twenty men emerged into the room, each one wearing the feeding mask of a vampire. The small oriental man turned back to face them again. He too was now wearing a vampires feeding face. 

"Why am I not surprised?" Faith muttered under her breath. 

"I will restore you master. This I vow on my honour…" there was a brief pause as he motioned to the others. "Take them." He hissed. The gang of vamps didn't need telling twice. They surged forward toward Faith and the vampire, snarling loudly as they moved. 

Faith floored the first one to meet her with a well aimed punch to the midriff, but to her astonishment, the vamp rolled as it hit the floor, leaping back to its feet almost as if she hadn't even touched it. Barely having time to think, her leg shot out and caught the next vampire squarely under the chin. The creature's eyes rolled back in its head as it collapsed to the floor. Without wasting time, she pulled her stake free and plunged it into the vamps heart. The creature cursed loudly as it exploded into a cloud of dust. She glanced over at the other vampire she'd fought earlier, and felt ever so slightly envious of him. He moved with supernatural speed, tearing through his opponents like they were paper, but as still more vampires poured into the room through the doors, Faith knew they were fighting a losing battle. There were just too many vamps. 

"Hey!" she yelled over the top of the sounds of battle. "We gonna get outta here or what?" The vampire span into a vicious roundhouse that slammed one of his attackers hard against the wall, backhanding the next creature to try and jump him.

"I'd say that would be a very good plan!" he yelled back, as he ducked a blow from a nearby vamp, sweeping its legs out from under it as he went. He straightened, turned sharply on his heel and darted to her side. 

"If you have any ideas on how to get out of here, let me know!" he said. Faith shot him a dazzling grin. 

"Way ahead of you big guy!" she said. Together, the two of them fought their way toward the back of the room, where the vampires huge seat lay. Faith wrapped her arms around the back of the chair, heaving it into the air with some considerable effort and swung it hard against the boarded up window. The boards shook under the impact but didn't break. She swung the chair again, already feeling her arms tiring. Once again the boards shook. With an exasperated grunt, the vampire grabbed the chair out of her hands as if it weighed next to nothing and hurled it hard against the boards. The heavy oaken frame of the chair slammed hard against the wood, crashing clean through it and the window beyond before tumbling to smash on the solid concrete below. Faith stared out of the window and felt her stomach turn at the distance to the ground below. One of the bad points about plummeting off a building with a knife in your side was that it instilled something of a fear of heights in you. 

"Time to go!" said the vampire, grabbing her roughly by the arm and swinging her up like a babe in arms. 

"Hey!!" Faith's embarrassment was clear as she tried to struggle free of his grasp. "What about Gu…?" she didn't have time to finish before the vampire had leapt from the window. She felt the wind rush through her hair as they dropped toward the solid concrete like a stone. She risked glancing down to see the ground hurtling up to meet them. Then suddenly they were down, the vampire dumping her unceremoniously on the ground as he straightened. 

"Come on." He hissed to her as he began to sprint away from the warehouse.

"But my friend…" Faith began.

"Is already gone." The vampire snapped. "We need to get out of here." 

Already the sounds of the other vampires in the building were growing louder as they dashed down to catch them. Faith threw a despairing glance to the building then took off after the vampire. Behind her she heard one of the other vampires roar with delight at the sight of them. She could just picture them flooding out of the warehouse in pursuit. 

"Where are we going?" she yelled after the vampire in front of her. 

"My car!" he yelled back as they dashed headlong round a corner. Faith slammed heavily into his back as he pulled up suddenly. 

"Or at least we were." He said. Faith peered past him, her whole body sagging in disbelief. The battered old Land Rover sat mockingly in front of them, smoke billowing from the bonnet, which had been wrenched clean open. The engine had been completely destroyed. 

"Just out of interest," she said in too calm voice, "do you have another car?" The vampire shot her a dark look before dashing off into the night again. Faith shrugged.

"I'll take that as a no then." She said, taking off after him.

*****

Shinji strode casually out of the warehouse, watching as a small group of his vampires whose excitement had got the better of them went dashing headlong into the night in pursuit of the dark haired Slayer and his master. He smiled at the sight. They were all younger ones, not one of them more than two decades as a vampire, the lust for the kill was still strong in them, the excitement of the hunt still coursed through them. They were going to get themselves killed

"Grachus!" he yelled. His favourite among the horde he had assembled jogged to his side. "Order those who remain to fan out and surround this neighbourhood. Cut off all the possible ways in or out. All we need to do is keep them here. They have only a few hours before the sun comes up and then we will be able to run them to ground all the more easily." Grachus nodded silently before moving off to inform the others. 

Shinji turned and strode to the edge of the warehouse district where the dark stretch limo awaited him. He hadn't been sure what to expect from his master, after all, he wasn't exactly the vampire who had made Shinji all those centuries ago, but still the sheer contempt with which he'd regarded him had been unexpected. No matter. His oath of loyalty would not be broken, could not be broken without the loss of his honour and to Shinji that was unacceptable. The debt had to be repaid. 

He stood; staring in the direction he'd seen the two of them flee. 

He hadn't expected this Slayer to be such an obstacle. From what he heard she was undoubtedly the lesser of the pair, but the one called Buffy had succumbed so much easier than this Faith. He sniffed at the air slowly. He could still feel her scent wafting through his nostrils. It was a scent of desperation, confusion, and even a little fear. He smiled. It was good that she was afraid. It would make her all the easier to track. 

Still smiling, he turned and strode off toward the waiting limo. The hunt had begun.__


	10. On the Run

**Chapter Nine**

**On the Run**

The wheels of Angel's black convertible locked as he slammed his foot down on the brake, causing the car to twist sideways into a sharp skid. Alongside he and Wesley, the old abandoned warehouse district stood ominously under what few stars were visible in the night sky. The place was deathly silent, not even the slightest trace of movement issued from within. 

Slowly, Angel narrowed his eyes as he sniffed gently at the air. He felt the demon within him stir slightly as he tapped into his vampiric senses. He could smell others, though their scent was fading fast. Chances were they were long gone by now. He slipped silently out of the car, and  moved cautiously toward the gates of the old district. The chain link fence creaked slightly as a breeze stirred it, causing it to swing inward. It was open! The last time Angel had even tried to pay King a visit, a padlocked chain had held the gate securely shut. 

He moved through the gate, Wesley following him, an axe clutched tightly in one hand, a well-worn crucifix in the other. 

"Which one?" the former Watcher asked softly as he nodded toward the rows of decrepit old warehouses. Angel shrugged. 

"Whichever one looks most intact." He said, his eyes scanning the buildings. He couldn't believe a creature like King lived here. The place was a ruin, a crumbling remnant of better times. 

His eyes lighted on warehouse three. Of them all, it looked by far to be the most undamaged. The roof still seemed to be intact and more importantly the windows had been boarded up, quite securely from the looks of things, as well.

"C'mon." he said, making his way purposefully toward the building.

Inside, the building was as quiet as it had been outside. Nothing stirred and the whole place had an eerie feeling of desolation.  

"Where are they?" Wesley whispered. Angel glanced back to see the Watcher's grip tightening around the handle of his axe.

"I'm not sure." Said Angel, sniffing at the air again. There was no doubt there had been vampires here. The scent was stronger inside the warehouse but still fading. "But vampires have been here recently." Wesley frowned as they arrived at the bottom of a rickety iron grill staircase. 

"More than one?" he said slowly. "I thought you said King lived alone." Angel nodded. 

"He does. That's what's confusing me." Cautiously they ascended the staircase. Angel reached inside his long duster and drew out a stake, his finger closing tightly around it as they approached the top.

At the top of the staircase, a door swung gently in the draft that blew through the warehouse, the set of offices beyond looking out over the main floor. Angel carefully reached out and pushed the door. It swung inward silently. Slowly he made his way inside, scanning each room as he passed through it. The final room was larger than the rest, its walls lined with shining gold sarcophagi, jewellery and other valuable Egyptian artefacts. Angel heard Wesley give a long low whistle. 

"Looks like our friend King's been busy." He stepped forward, fingering one of the artefacts. Even in the darkness, Angel could see his eyes sparkle as he recognised the item. Angel smiled. Wesley might not be a Watcher anymore, but the old habits and excitements died hard. His smile was replaced with a frown as he caught sight of the back of the room. The previously boarded up window had been smashed open. Slowly he made his way over to it, keeping a watchful eye on the myriad shadows that filled the room. He paused briefly at the window. There was no glass on the floor. Peering out his suspicions were confirmed. A huge chair with a high backrest and cushioned arms lay in a shattered heap among glittering shards of glass. The window had been smashed out from the inside. Angel frowned. Where were Faith and Gunn? What had happened here?

A low groan drifted slowly out of one of the room's shadow draped corners. Angel was there almost immediately, his eyes widening as he caught sight of the groaner. It was Gunn. He was lying in crumpled heap against one of the walls, his ankle twisted at a vicious angle from where it had failed to take his weight. 

"Gunn!" said Angel, sounding nowhere near as surprised as he actually felt. "Gunn! Are you alright?" 

"Angel?" Gunn said slowly. "Is that you, man?"

"Yeah, it's me." Said Angel kneeling at his side. "Wesley's here too."

"Cool." Said Gunn trying to shift into a sitting position, wincing slightly as his ankle twisted. 

"Here, let me help you up." Said Angel, extending a hand. Gunn batted it away, shaking his head as he did so. 

"C'mon man, I've just twisted my ankle is all. Not like I've never had worse." He said, bracing his back against the wall and slowly sliding into a standing position. Gingerly he tested his ankle, biting back a cry of pain when it failed to take his weight. Angel was immediately at his side, slipping his arm around Gunn's torso as he held him up.

"What happened here?" Wesley asked, keeping a watchful eye on the shadows as they moved. "Where's the girl you came here with?" Gunn frowned as he hobbled along. 

"You mean that Faith chick?" he said. Wesley nodded. 

"She's a very dangerous young woman." Gunn nodded in silent agreement.

"You got that right." He said. "I've never seen any girl who could fight like that. What's her deal anyway?"

"Gunn, we need to know where she is." Said Angel, tightening his grip as they approached the stairs that lead down toward the bottom floor of the warehouse. Gunn let out a frustrated sigh. 

"Wish I knew." He said finally as he hobbled down the stairs. "We turn up here, tooled up for some vampire wasting and the vamp we take on wipes the floor with us. I mean we seriously had no chance! He was so fast it was unreal!" he paused as they reached the bottom of the stairs, his concentration focused on moving from the final step with a minimum of pain. 

"Anyway, he throws me headfirst into a wall, and I trip and break my ankle at the same time. I blacked out for a minute or two, but the next thing I know, they've stopped fighting and there's this new guy talking to the vamp." Angel frowned at that. From the word on the underground, King liked his privacy. In fact, he guarded it jealously, as any who ventured into the district without his permission were quick to discover. What had the other person been doing here?

"What did he look like?" asked Wesley. 

"The new guy?" said Gunn. Wesley nodded. 

"Short, oriental looking, long dark hair. Fairly creepy little guy." Wesley glanced over at Angel.

"Angel?" he said. The vampire shook his head. 

"Sorry Wes. Doesn't ring any bells." Wesley let out a sigh of annoyance at this new piece to the puzzle. 

"Go on Gunn." Said Angel as they moved out of the warehouse. Gunn shrugged. 

"Not much more to tell. A Whole bunch of vamps turned up and attacked the two of them. Faith and the vamp escaped out the back window, and I kept my head down so that they wouldn't find me."

Outside the moon was riding high in the sky; it's soft silver light bathing the whole district in an eerie silent glow. Something drifted on the night breeze, an almost palatable smell of evil that made even Angel shiver nervously. 

"Okay," said Gunn, limping slowly along toward Angel's car, "now it's my turn to ask the questions. Who's Faith, and what the hell…"

*****

"…is going on!" Faith demanded as she leaned back against the wall of the alleyway, her chest heaving in exhaustion. They'd lost their pursuers a couple of blocks back.

"Who were those vamps, and what's all this about you marching in the soul parade?" The vampire paused for a moment, his skin seeming to shine in the light from the streetlamps. Suddenly and without warning he whirled to face her, his fist flying up to collide with her chest. 

Faith's breath exploded out of her in a surprised gasp as she doubled over with the force of the blow. The vampire didn't waste anytime. Grabbing her roughly by her top, he shoved hard against the brick wall, so hard that she could've sworn she felt the stone and mortar crunch loudly under her. 

"Did you really think I wouldn't figure you out?" he snarled viciously. "Do your employers think so little of me?" He slid his forearm over her chest, just below her neck and pushed hard to keep her from moving. 

"Employers…" Faith said, frowning in confusion, "I don't kn…" his free fist flew up, catching her hard across the jaw and snapping her head sharply to the side.

"I am not a fool!" he snapped loudly and pressed harder with his forearm. Faith was finding it increasingly difficult to breathe. "First that decadent slut, then Shinji and now they dangle you in front of me as if she lives again!" Slut? Faith's mind whirled. He couldn't mean the lawyer could he? Could Wolfram & Hart really be behind all this? If so, what did this vampire and Shinji have to do with any of it?

"This woman…" Faith gagged as he suddenly pressed sharply against her ribs. "…Is she tall? Brown hair? A good looking Ice Queen?" The vampire watched her silently for a moment, his eyes narrowing. 

"So you do know her!" he hissed finally. "Why does she want me? Why does she persist in torturing me?" Torturing him?

"Listen!" Faith gasped, her breath coming in short laboured pants while all along, she pushed ineffectually at his arm. How was he so strong? "We're in the same boat here! She wants me too! She got me out of prison just so her firm could get their claws into me!" 

"Firm?" said the vampire, easing the pressure on her chest. "Tell me about this firm." Faith gulped in a huge lungful of air. 

"She works for a law firm." She said, trying desperately to judge what reaction her words were having on the vampire. "They're called Wolfram & Hart and they represent the kinds of things I've spent the last couple of years of my life fighting against."

"And Shinji," said the vampire slowly, as if considering what she said were true. "What about him?" Slowly he slid his arm off her chest, allowing Faith to breathe freely again.

"I was hoping you'd tell me that." She said, rubbing at her bruised ribs. "After all, you seem to know him."

"I…" the vampire began, but suddenly his head snapped round sharply as if he'd heard something. Faith followed his gaze to the end of the alley. There was nothing there. A soft rasping chuckle sounded behind them. Faith whirled back round to face the other end of the alley. Five vampires were watching them, the lead seeming to be enjoying the sight of the two of them together. He was both medium height and medium build and upon first glance didn't seem like much of a threat. But there was something there, a dark cunning that shone from behind his cruel brown eyes. A long and vicious looking scar ran across his throat. Faith guessed, quite rightly, that it was the result of coming one step too close to decapitation.

"So, you're the Great King of Vampires who Sire so often speaks of." He said. His voice was a harsh rasp, probably due to the scar. The vampire standing next to Faith smiled. "I have to say, I'm a little disappointed, what with the lurking in an alley way alongside a Slayer of all things. It's all so…" the vampire gave a shiver of disdain. "…so common." He finished. The vampire standing next to Faith smiled.

"So Shinji sends a mere pup to take me. His judgement must be fading after all these years." Faith rolled her eyes. Was posturing and muscle flexing the only way these vamps could communicate with one another? She hoped not, otherwise they'd be here all night.

"I am no pup King!" the vampire snapped. His rasping voice dripped with menace. "I am Grachus, first of Shinji's breed after the holocaust you brought upon our ancient Kingdom!" The vampire called King's smile vanished in an instant. 

"Our Kingdom! OUR KINGDOM!" he roared. "I built that decadent pit you insolent boy! It was a mistake I have never seen fit to repeat and it was mine to destroy!"

"You took away our paradise!" the vampire calling himself Grachus hissed. "You took us to the brink of greatness and then threw us to the wolves!" King's smile reappeared.

"You had grown fat and slow, and the wolves were hungry." 

"Well now the time has come, oh Great King." The vampire said, bowing with mock reverence. "Your grandchildren arise from the ashes of the old to bring forth the new, and this time we will not grow fat nor decadent, and the wolves shall make fine dining." 

Faith glanced over her shoulder, her eyes widening in surprise as she caught sight of the vampires closing in behind them. Six of them. All along, still more flooded into the alley behind Grachus until they vastly outnumbered the two of them. Even with her new supervamp playmate she didn't fancy their chances if it came down to a stand-up fight. King seemed to be aware of the ever decreasing odds too as he cast a furtive glance over his shoulder at the alley entrance. 

"The Kingdom shall be reborn in a baptism of blood and you'll be there to see the Truth, then my lord Shinji's debt shall be repaid." Grachus continued. A dark smile spread slowly across his face. "Then you shall die as did your children." Slowly the veritable army of vamps that had now gathered at the front of the alley began to advance on them.

"Well," said Faith, stepping slowly back from them. "This really has been fun…"

"No it hasn't." Grachus said. Faith shrugged. 

"I guess you're right. Okay then, it's been worse than a painful root canal op, which is why we really should be going." And with that, she spun on her heel and hurled a stake into the nearest vamps chest. The creature looked mildly surprised as it vanished in a cloud of dust. The other vampires let out a collective bellow of fury at the death of the comrade and surged forward. 

Before she knew it, Faith was fighting for her life as the vampires fell upon her, cutting off the alley exit before she even had time to make a move in its direction. She ducked the first vamp to come at her. Grabbing hold of a nearby trash can lid as she swept by, she pivoted, and brought it crashing down over the back of the vampire's head. As the creature crumpled unconscious to the ground, another lashed out at her in a vicious roundhouse. A well-timed duck allowed her to catch his leg and heave him round like weighty club, slamming him hard against another vampire attempting to grab her from behind. Which was when it occurred to her, the vampires weren't trying to kill her. Their blows were aimed at spots that would incapacitate her. She frowned as she hurled an empty trashcan hard into the face of an attacker. They wanted her alive! Sadly this knowledge didn't seem to be doing her much good in the fight. Even with her superior skill, speed and strength and the aid of King, who was fighting like a demon from hell, there were just too many of them and she was already beginning to tire. 

Suddenly there was the sound of squealing rubber on tarmac and a panicked rush by the vamps to move aside as a familiar black car hurtled through the throng.

"Angel!" she yelled over the clamour of battle as he leaped from the car, brandishing a wicked looking broadsword. 

"Here!" he yelled in return, tossing a small fighting axe through the air. Faith's fingers snared it expertly, and before long her hands were practically humming as the axe span through the air in an intricate series of arcs. Wesley had also leaped to join the fray, displaying more nerve and skill with a stake and sword than Faith had ever thought possible from the same man she remembered as being a snivelling incompetent. She felt a rush of relief as she caught sight of Gunn seated in the backseat of the car with a crossbow levelled across the headrest of the passenger seat, letting fly with bolt after bolt like a man possessed. 

Even with the reinforcements though, the tide of the fight did not turn. The group was still too small to take on such heavy numbers and the vampires were beginning to press their advantage once again. Slowly but surely, the four of them were pushed back to the car. Faith found herself alongside Wesley, the two of them sweating madly as they worked forms and stances with their weapons. 

"This… isn't… working." Wesley gasped between short ragged breaths. 

"New plan then." Faith breathed heavily. Without warning, she turned and vaulted into the drivers seat of the car. She gunned the engine with a satisfying roar. 

"Get in!" she yelled as she slammed it into what she hoped was reverse gear. She'd never driven a stick shift before. None of them needed telling twice. In an instant, King, Wesley and Angel had turned and dived into the relative sanctuary of the car. Easing off the clutch, she was surprised when the car barely moved, while all around her, vampires closed in. In desperation she brought her foot up sharply and the car shot off up the alley in a screech of tyres and the scent of burned rubber. 

Faith clung grimly to the steering wheel as they hurtled backward out of the alley, before twisting the wheel sharply. The car span into a one eighty-degree turn as she struggled vainly to shift into first. There was a crunch of complaint from the gearbox at such violent treatment and she stamped on the accelerator. Hard. The car shot forward like a bullet from a gun, swerving wildly at first as Faith wrestled to bring it under control, before she finally managing to calm the temperamental beast. Once they were a safe distance away, she stopped the car and traded places with Angel. 

Together, the ragtag group set off in the direction of the Hyperion Hotel.


	11. The Bleeding

Chapter Ten **The Bleeding**

Buffy winced as a piercing bright light shone through the entrance to her own personal little prison. Slowly she lifted her head to stare at the doorway in defiance. Three figures were stood, silhouetted in the shining white light. 

"You know, it's really hard for me to escape when I'm trussed up like this!" she said sarcastically, shaking her hands where they were manacled above her head for emphasis. "Whatever happened to a good old bit of rope used to tie me down to a flimsy wooden chair?"

"She talks a lot, doesn't she?" Said a surprisingly flat and emotionless voice. Buffy squinted. It seemed to be coming from the broadest of the three, who from the way the light was shining off his head, she guessed was bald. 

One of the strangers stepped out of the small rectangle of light, disappearing into the shadows that draped the room. There was a quiet click and suddenly the whole room was bathed in a soft, pale light from a pair of overhead neon strip lamps. Buffy's eyes narrowed as they tried to adjust to the light. She hadn't seen her prison before. The room was a perfect cube in shape and, she suspected, in structure as well. Each gunmetal grey wall blended perfectly into the next, giving the distinct impression of being inside a massive safety deposit box. The only entrance to the room was the door through which the strangers had entered, and judging by its thickness, it was quite sturdy. The floor to the room was covered in tiny holes, each no bigger than a pinhead, but Buffy could feel the ventilation draft wafting through them and rustling her loose hair. 

The three strangers were the most unusual sight. The first was a tall, slim woman; Buffy would estimate her at about thirty years old, dressed in an immaculate business suit and with the kind of complexion a super model would kill for. Her arms were folded across her chest in what Buffy assumed was a defensive posture. The middleman was broad of both shoulder and chest, and like the woman he was dressed in a suit. She had guessed quite rightly that he was bald and his beefy visage was somewhat offset by the pair of thick framed Woody Allen glasses he was wearing. The third man was the biggest puzzle. He was smaller than the other two, but still taller than her and looked to be oriental, possibly Japanese. His features were thin and delicate and his long pitch-black hair shone dazzlingly in the light from the neon lamps. Buffy didn't have to look at him for more than a moment to realise he was a vampire.

"So this is the Slayer." Said the woman, looking her up and down with an appraising view. Buffy had the distinct feeling she was being measured like some kind of commodity. She didn't like it.

"It would seem so." Said the broad man in the Woody Allen glasses. 

"I have to say, I'd expected more." Said the woman. "I mean, I read the bio you gave me Mr Reed and I didn't expect her to be taken so easily."

"You're pet vamps didn't play fair." Buffy snapped, straining vainly against her chains. "Did no one tell you, cattle prods tend to make a fight one sided that way?"

"I think she talks entirely too much." Said the oriental vampire, a disgusted leer on his face. Slowly the leer turned into a dark grin. "We'll silence her soon enough, but first…" He reached into the folds of his long dark coat, pulling free what appeared to be a small pewter dish and an unpleasant looking dagger. Slowly but surely, the vampire began to advance purposefully toward her.

"You know what?" said Buffy, eyeing the knife as it shone brilliantly in the dull light. "I get the feeling you guys aren't just intending to give me a little slap on the wrist and let me go, are you?" The question had been meant to go unanswered and it did. As the vampire came within arms reach of her, she swung her legs up, her feet colliding heavily with the vampires chin. He tumbled backward to the floor, clinging to the small pewter bowl as if his unlife depended on it. Carefully, he picked himself up from the floor and examined the bowl. 

"So you do have some fight in you after all." He hissed. "Good. That will make the blood so much sweeter." He began to advance again, more cautiously this time, when suddenly a fourth figure appeared in the doorway. He was average height with a deep running scar across his throat. 

"Sire!" he spoke hurriedly, his voice little more than a dry rasp. 

"Well Grachus?" Said the oriental vampire, his calculating eyes never leaving Buffy. "Do you have them?"

"Sire, I beg your forgiveness. We cornered them in an alleyway, but they had help. The vampire Angel and his human dogs came to their aid." Angel? If these vamps had run into Angel then she must be in LA. Which begged the question, why was she in LA?

"So," said the oriental vampire, a hint of disappointment entering his voice "you are telling me, that two nights before the moon is at its zenith and the barriers are at their weakest, you have failed to bring me our master and the Slayer?" Slayer? But they already had… Suddenly it clicked in Buffy's head. They were talking about Faith. Just what the hell was going on here?

"Sire, please, I admit that I underestimated them, but they fought well! Even had I been on guard, I don't think events would have occurred any differently!" The oriental vampire took a deep breath as if to calm himself. 

"I appreciate your honesty Grachus. It is a trait our master would respect among his servants." The vampire going by the name of Grachus visibly relaxed at the oriental vampire's words. "It does not matter that they still walk free this night, for we have two more days in which to bring them to heel." He turned back to face Buffy. 

"And now, you and I have some unfinished business to attend to." 

Buffy watched him warily as he approached, the knife glinting wickedly in the light. Suddenly and with blinding speed, the arm clutching the knife shot out, opening a vein in her right forearm. Buffy cried out in surprised pain, her legs reeling up to kick at the vampire, but he easily dodged the clumsy blow and circled round behind her. Slowly he reached up and held the pewter dish at the base of the trickle of blood, squeezing her arm with his free hand. The blood filled the small bowl with surprising speed and the vampire quickly withdrew, holding the bowl with the reverence of a holy relic. The gash in her arm throbbed painfully.

"The first step is taken." He said quietly to no one in particular as he made his way out of the room.

"And what about her?" said the woman, throwing a nod in Buffy's direction. 

"Leave her be." Said the vampire with scarcely a backward glance. "We'll need more later."

*****

Faith made her way quietly up the steps behind Wesley and Angel, a cursing Gunn leaning heavily against her shoulder. She barely even registered the new car pulled up outside the hotel, its bodywork gleaming in the light of the sinking moon. She couldn't believe dawn was already approaching. It didn't seem five minutes since the sun had sank behind the tower blocks that covered the LA skyline.

Behind her she could hear the heavy footsteps of King. He had been silent since they had escaped the vampire mob in the alley. Faith's head was crawling with questions about him, like who Shinji was and what they were to one another. What was the kingdom Grachus had mentioned, and where did Wolfram and Hart figure into all of this? There were just too many angles to it all for Faith. Subtlety had never been her thing and forward thinking even less of a priority. She had a hard time understanding it in others. 

As they entered the building, Angel and Wesley stopped dead in their tracks, causing Faith to nearly walk straight into the back of them. Cautiously she peered around them.

"What's going…" the sentence died in her throat. Sat on the couches at the centre of the lobby, Cordelia standing nearby, were a group of individuals she recognised all too well. 

"What's she doing here?" hissed the teenage girl, her voice seething with anger. Faith couldn't help but stare at how much she'd grown in the two years since she'd last seen her.

"Dawnie?" her voice was filled with shock. Dawn folded her arms and glared at her. Faith shuffled her feet uncomfortably under those accusing eyes. "You've… erm… You've grown." Was all she could think of to say.

"Well?" said Xander, his voice equally accusing. "What _is _she doing here?"

"It's a long story," Said Angel, glancing warily at Spike, "and I could ask the same thing."  The platinum vampire was pacing uncomfortably behind the others, his leather boots squeaking loudly on the polished floor while a lit cigarette dangled limply from between his pale fingers. 

"It's about Buffy." Said Willow slowly, her voice sounding hollow.

"What about Buffy?" Angel's question was surprisingly calm, but Faith could still feel the tautness of his tone. He was worried. 

"Enough of ring around the bloody roses!" snapped Spike. "A bunch of vampires jumped her on patrol and kidnapped her. We caught one of 'em and dragged some bollocks prophecy about skyscrapers, blood and knowing the truth out of him before he… decided to turn to dust on us." 

"And you think they brought her to LA?" said Wesley, frowning slightly. "Why?" Xander's eyes flicked to the right where King had just stepped round the group.

"Because of him." He said accusingly. The strange vampire turned and glared at Xander, the sword tattoo over his eye creasing as his eyes narrowed. 

"What makes you think he had anything to do with this?" said Faith, immediately wishing she hadn't spoke as the band from Sunnydale focused their disapproving stares on her.

"The tattoo was of a black bladed sword." Said Xander. "No prizes for spotting the similarity with his unholiness over there." Angel span to face King.

"Can you explain this?" he demanded. "If you're involved and they've hurt Buffy, I swear…" 

"They're nothing more than children." Said King with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Barely any of them can be over three hundred." Faith's eyes widened. If King thought of vampire's who'd lived for centuries as being just children then how old was he? Just what sort of vampire could he be?

"But they do have something to do with you!" said Gunn suddenly. "You and that vamp at the warehouse seemed pretty cosy."

"You mean Shinji?" said King. "Now I will admit that he and I do have something of a history, but not so colourful as you would believe." 

"This is all well and good, but you people are all overshooting the matter with all this talk of children tattoos, which is where did these vamps take my sister." Said Dawn. Suddenly a thought leapt into Faith's head.

"How long ago did they take Buffy?" she asked. 

"How's that supposed to help us find her?" said Dawn, not even attempting to disguise the contempt that filled her voice when she addressed the brunette Slayer. 

"Yesterday night." Said Willow, doing her best to answer the question. 

"Wolfram & Hart!" said Faith turning to Angel. "It's got to be!" Angel nodded in acknowledgement. There was no way it could be coincidence that on the same day they had tried to abduct Faith from prison, Buffy had gone missing in Sunnydale. 

"If Wolfram & Hart are behind this, then they must be keeping her at their offices." Said Wesley thoughtfully, crossing the room toward the reception desk. "We'll have to come with some kind of plan to get her out of there."

Faith gave a satisfied smile as the respective gangs gathered around, bombarding ideas off one another as they formulated a plan of attack. It was just like the old days she remembered back at the Sunnydale High library, before she'd taken up with Mayor Wilkins. King simply crossed the room, settled into the couches at the centre of the foyer and closed his eyes. Faith frowned. She just couldn't figure him out at all. Okay, he had a soul like Angel, but they seemed as different as two men could possibly be. While Angel was all compassion and kindness, King was cool, clinical detachment for most of the time, but push him in the right spots and it was like lighting blue touch paper.

Slowly she made her way over and sat near him. He was so still it was unbelievable; his whole body calm and relaxed beyond the point of simple relief.

"So…" she said, rolling the word over in her mouth. He opened his eyes and suddenly Faith felt very uncomfortable. She'd never really realised before, but when King was focused on you it was like the rest of the world fell away for him. You were the only thing he paid any attention to.

"Yes?" he said flatly.

"What do you think of all this." 

"What?" 

"All this." Faith repeated, "Kidnapping, Wolfram & Hart, foretelling of blood and the like." He watched her steadily for a moment before answering. 

"For this to mean anything to me, I'd have to have a personal stake in it. I don't, therefore it doesn't."

"What about Shinji?" she said, brushing her hair back behind her ears. As she did so she thought she saw something in his eyes, something she'd seen when they first met in the warehouse, a flash of recognition perhaps? "He seemed pretty personal to me." 

"He means nothing." 

"Then who is he?" King regarded her for a moment from below slanted eyebrows. Slowly and with a long sigh he leaned back in his seat. 

"I've sired many in my time as a vampire." He said slowly. "They were my children, my followers if you like. I taught them the ways of the vampire as they were taught to me, how we should live, and how we should hunt. I taught them how we must never let our instincts be dulled, and how the world was a harsh place where, even among our kind, only the strongest survive. I created a kingdom where I ruled over my children, and for centuries we lived as true vampires, hunting and killing under the stars." His tone was curious, both wistful and longing for his glory days, and at the same time it was filled with disgust and contempt for the things he'd done, things his soul simply couldn't bear. 

"But then my favourite, a child prodigy of mine, rebelled against me. He fell into corruption and decadence, developing an obsession with indulging his every desire and twisted pleasure. One by one he seduced my other children. I couldn't save them from his influence, so I took up my sword…" he stroked at his tattoo as he spoke "and laid waist to my kingdom. Any of my children who stood against me perished, and those who fled I hunted to the ends of the Earth. They were a failed breed and their existence could not be tolerated." Faith was chilled by his words. She could only imagine the horrors he described, but he had seen them all first hand. How could he cope with the things he'd done? His crimes went far beyond hers, and yet at the same time, he was less to blame for his than she for hers. After all, he hadn't had a soul at the time.

"This child prodigy. It was Shinji wasn't it?" She said finally. King shook his head.

"Only two of my children survived my anger. One because I didn't possess the strength to end him, and Shinji, because I simply didn't have the heart to kill him. He was never my brightest or best, but he was loyal, almost to the point of zealou…" he paused as he mulled over his words. Suddenly his eyes lit up with a sudden insight.

"He wouldn't!" he said suddenly. He clambered hurriedly to his feet, moving so quickly Faith barely saw him move as he shot across the foyer, grabbing Xander roughly by the shoulders and whirling him round to face him.

"What was the prophecy?" he hissed urgently.


	12. The Truth

Chapter Eleven The Truth 

"How many times do I have to tell you?" King was saying exasperatedly, "It's not a truth, or the truth. It's the Truth!" Faith and the rest of the group just stared at him blankly. He'd been trying to explain the prophecy Xander had relayed for what seemed like hours now, and in all that time, Faith still didn't think they had gotten anywhere. 

"That's all well and good mate." Spike said, "but you still haven't told us what this Truth is." King looked at him like he was a complete fool. 

"You really don't know what it is do you." He said. It was a statement, not a question. 

"That's why we need you to tell us." Said Angel. He'd been pacing agitatedly since King had begun. King leaned back on the couch, as if pondering whether or not to tell them.

"The Truth," he began, looking at each of them in turn, his eyes lingering on Faith for an uncomfortable amount of time, "is not what you think. It's not the reality behind a lie and it isn't the answer to a question. It is a ritual that plays a part in an ancient vampire philosophy, a philosophy of which my Sire was an avid follower."

"I've never heard of any kind of vampire philosophy." Said Faith; intrigued by all the talk of vampire culture she'd heard over the past few hours. "I always thought it was pretty much just crush, kill'n destroy with you guys."

"That is a thinking more common among the young." Said King in reply, glancing at Angel as he did so. "The older members of our race see a little more behind our existence than that, namely that vampires are merely part of a process set in motion at the death of a mortal body, and that our ultimate goal should be to complete this process, and move beyond this stage of our existence."

"You mean like a caterpillar and a butterfly." Said Dawn, after considering his words. King nodded slightly.

"In a manner of speaking." Faith leaned forward as he continued. "The Truth is a ritual designed to complete the process, a blood rite that will allow a full blooded demon to pass into this world through the body of the vampire at the centre of the ritual. I suppose you could call it a kind of vampire ascendancy, where we leave behind the frailties of this human shell and transcend to something even greater."

"Don't you mean worse?" said Gunn, glaring at King dangerously. King shot him a look of total derision. 

"It depends entirely on your viewpoint." 

"So you think that Shinji is trying to perform the ritual, and turn himself into some kind of pure demon?" said Faith, her mind working desperately to keep up with events. King shook his head.

"He's not planning to perform the ritual on himself. Shinji was a Japanese samurai, and even as a vampire, the code of Bushido to which he adhered was impossible to break. I twisted and manipulated it, but it was so ingrained I could never rid him of it. He sees my turning him as something of a favour, and Bushido will not permit that. He is in my debt and he often told me of how it was a debt he could never repay. Now I believe he thinks he's finally found a way to repay me."

"You mean he's going to perform the ritual on you." Said Angel understanding immediately. King nodded again.

"It will clear the debt, and I will be the purest of my kind." 

"So why does he need Buffy?" said Dawn, sounding more distraught and angry than ever. Faith felt her heart go out to the teenage girl. From what Angel had told her while she was in jail, Dawn had had a tough time of it this last year or so. With everything that had happened to her and now Buffy's kidnapping, she wasn't in the least surprised that the girl saw it all as being so unfair. She'd felt the same about her own life once.

"Why does he need her, when all he wants is you?" her eyes narrowed. "Is he trying to bargain her for you?" King stared at her levelly, not blinking once. Faith was amazed that Dawn didn't look away. She had her sister's stubbornness that was for sure.

"It's a blood rite girl." He said finally. "And for a blood rite Shinji needs blood." He glanced briefly at Faith.

"Slayers blood to be precise."

"So why would Wolfram & Hart be so interested in clearing a blood debt between you and your prodigy?" said Angel curiously. "And why would Shinji seek their aid in the first place? If you taught him to be anything like you, he'd sooner die than accept help from a bunch of humans." King sat silently for a moment, mulling over the possibilities. Finally he spoke.

"Many vampires, myself included, considered the ritual to be too dangerous and set about destroying all the copies of the rite we could find. To pull it off you had to quite literally smash a crack in the barrier between the dimensions, and just like glass, those cracks would spread, slowly at first but as the barrier weakened with each new crack more would appear. One pure blooded demon would quickly become two, then four and so on, until the entire barrier became so fragile that it would simply collapse under the pressure." 

"Armies of hell on Earth." Said Wesley, a touch too dramatically for Faith's liking. King nodded.

"Armageddon again!" groaned Xander. "Can't you guys come up with anything more original than that?"

"And you think Wolfram & Hart would have a copy of this rite?" said Angel ignoring Xander. "Hardly surprising. The Apocalypse always seems to be somewhere on that companies plans."

"Then we need to stop them." Said Gunn, from where he sat while Cordelia set about splinting his ankle. "We need to go rescue this Bunny, or whatever her name is before they can pull off the ritual."

"_You_ need to stop them from triggering off the end of the world." Said King glancing round the assembled group in front of him. "I need to get the hell out of dodge." And with that he clambered to his feet and strode off up the stairs, the rest of them staring after him in dumbstruck silence.

"What the hell was all that about?" said Spike, staring up the stairs at King's departing figure.

"Angel," said Wesley, already seeming to mull over the possibilities of an attack on Wolfram & Hart in his head. "This would be a lot easier…"

"…If we had someone like King helping us." Angel nodded. "I know Wes." He turned and stared off up the stairs, a slight sign escaping from between his lips. 

"I'll go talk to him." He was just about to start up the stairs after him when Faith clambered to her feet.

"Wait." She said hurriedly. "Let me talk to him." 

"You!" said Dawn, letting loose a disbelieving snort. "Since when have you been good at reasoning with people?" Faith turned away, unable to meet the young girls accusing eyes. 

"It's just that I…" she swallowed slightly, feeling suddenly uncomfortable. "I think I remind him of someone." Angel watched her silently for a moment, before finally nodding.

"Go on."

"Angel!" Dawn's voice was high with incredulity.

"We don't have time for this Dawn," Angel snapped back, "and I think Faith and King have more in common than the rest of us."

"Yeah." Dawn shot back. "They're both cold blooded killers!"

"Dawn." Said Spike quietly, "would you just drop it." She turned and glared at him.

"A killer sticking up for a killer. What a surprise." Spike stared at her like he'd just been stung, as the young girl clambered to her feet and stormed out into the back yard of the hotel. Faith watched her go. She couldn't blame Dawn. The girl was perfectly justified in her dislike for Faith but it still hurt when someone who she'd once got on with so well now displayed such an open dislike for her. Slowly she turned and began to trudge off up the stairs.

*****

Dawn sat miserably on the cold stone that surrounded one of the flowerbeds, her legs dangling a good inch or so off the ground while she picked idly at the leaves around her. She would pluck one from the branch, fold it over on itself and then begin to methodically tear it apart until only little pieces were left, before simply plucking another from the branch and beginning all over again.

"What's wrong nibblet?" Spike's thick English brogue filled the still night air. She didn't have to look to tell he was standing behind her.

"Go away." She said simply. 

"Not 'till you tell me what's wrong." Said Spike, sliding into a sitting position alongside her.

"I don't want to talk to you." 

"Hard luck little bit." 

"Stop saying that!" she growled from behind gritted teeth.

"Stop saying what?" 

"Stop calling me those pet names! You don't care enough to use them!" Spike groaned.

"Bloody hell Dawn!" he muttered. "What's wrong with you? You've been like a cold fish with me ever since we left Sunnydale! I thought we were mates!"

"I could never be friends with a killer!" she snapped loudly at him. Spike looked slightly taken aback.

"It never stopped you before!" he said, looking genuinely hurt. "You knew what I was before this sudden change of heart."

"That was before I'd seen you in action." She said quietly, a feeling of nostalgia for all the times she'd sat in his crypt while Spike told her his scary stories about all the things he'd done sweeping over her as she spoke. She'd never even tried to imagine him actually doing them. They'd just been something cool then. Now all she could think about when she thought of those stories was his face, and the pleasure he'd taken in ending each and every one of those lives.

"You saw what I did to that vampire didn't you." Said Spike. It was a statement, not a question. Dawn nodded.

"He was in so much pain," she said, feeling a painful lump of anguish at the back of her throat. "You hurt him so much…"

"For Christ's sake Dawn, the thing was trash! I was trying to get answers out of him so we could find Buffy!"

"But the things you did to him…" she whispered sadly, tears beginning to drip gently down her cheeks.

"He might already have done to her." Spike said, in a voice begging for her to see the rational side of it. But Dawn couldn't see any rationality in what Spike had done. She clambered to her feet, staring sadly at him from behind tear stained eyes. God, she wished she'd never snuck in there to see what was going on.

"It's no good Spike." She said, choking back a sob. "You can't just explain away what you did! It… It went beyond interrogation. You…" she paused as she stared at him a look of horror spreading across her face. "You enjoyed it!" she said sadly, and with that, she turned and fled back inside. Spike watched her go, then turned and plucked sadly at the leaves of the plants.

*****

King stood, rifling noisily through Angel's wardrobe as he searched for clothes to wear. Did the vampire have nothing but black leather dusters and tight fitting sweaters in here? He snatched up a pair of sturdy looking boots, grunting only slightly as he forced his feet into them, despite the fact they were a good size or two too small for him. He reached up and snatched at the least long and billowy of the leather coats then grabbed one of the charcoal grey sweaters from a neatly folded pile. 

He'd just finished pulling it over his head when he caught her scent in the air. The smell was intoxicating, so close to what Soonan's aroma had once been. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. It took all his effort just to calm himself when this Faith girl was around, so much did she remind him of his long dead wife.

"Planning a trip?" she said. God she even sounded like her. What was she? Some new kind of torment devised by some ultimate power that had it in the neck for him?

"I've got an evil law firm with the intention of triggering off an apocalypse using my body, and a demented former student thinking he's doing me a favour by having something probably green and spiky rip its way out from inside me hot on my heels. Under the circumstances I'd say that a trip is a very good idea."

"So you're running." King glared at her.

"Wouldn't you?" her response puzzled him. 

"I've run enough, and I think so have you." 

"And so it starts." He chuckled dryly. "It must be fun for you Slayers, to take the high ground on all these rocky little moral issues you find yourselves in, to kill for nothing more than duty from behind a shield of righteousness." He shook his head slightly. 

"All so easy."

"And I suppose you think you've got it hard." Said Faith, advancing across the threshold and into the room itself. "Tormented by the faces of those you've killed over the centuries, all you can see is them and their hatred, or maybe even their innocence? How many you killed deserved it King?" King felt his anger flaring. Who was she to judge him, this slip of a girl, barely more than twenty in his estimation? How dare she try and judge him! As his anger began to rage silently, he felt it stirring at the back of his mind. He could hear it spitting and cursing both him and her as it charged into the forefront of his thoughts, a whirlwind of hate and bile ranting desperately for death and destruction. 

"You're damned right it's hard!" he roared at her. "Do you think I wanted to feel this way? Do you think I wanted to feel at all? I became a vampire,  because I was done with feelings! All I wanted was revenge!" 

"It's not meant to be easy King, and it doesn't matter whether you wanted it or not! The point is you deserved it! It's punishment, punishment for everything you did and I'm going to make sure you don't run away from it." King glared at her. She was just as aggravating as Soonan that was for sure. He began to stride purposefully toward the doorway. Faith stepped into his path, her arms folded firmly across her chest.

"You're not leaving." She said sternly.

"And who are you to stop me?" he hissed. "Playing judge and jury to me, when you could never possibly understand the things that I've done." He could feel the sadness at those words, and for once he welcomed it into his heart, the cursing and spitting in his head subsiding a little as he calmed.

"Other than Angel I'm the only person in this building who has any right to judge you!" said Faith, glaring sharply back at him. 

"Oh really!" snapped King. "Have you ever killed a person Slayer, a real flesh and blood person, not just someone who turns to dust on the wind? Have you ever felt the warmth of blood on your hands, the exhilaration of knowing that a lifetime of experiences and possibilities has died at your hands? Have you ever felt that power?" Her answer was chillingly simple.

"Yes." King blinked, unable to hide the surprise that was spreading across his face.

"Wh… What did you say?" he said, completely taken aback by her admission. 

"Two nights ago I was freed from prison by Wolfram & Hart. I'd been serving a life sentence for murder."

"But… But you're a Slayer!" said King. How could this be possible? How could someone so like Soonan have so much in common with him? He felt and overwhelming surge of sadness. What had happened to this girl? What had driven her to commit the darkest of crimes?

"You think I don't know that?" said Faith, her eyes filling with tears at the thoughts of what she'd done. "I'm supposed to protect people, and instead I ended them! I know everything you're going through because so am I! But running away from it, praying that everything'll just stop, that never works!" she stared at him for a moment before speaking again, her voice almost pleading this time.

"These people King, they're good people! They can help us, but first we need to help them. We need to stop running and face up to what we are! If you're too much of a coward then you may as well run to the end of the Earth. Everything you've done will catch you eventually." King watched her as she turned and began to walk away, the tears of frustration and pain staining her cheeks. He closed his eyes and sighed. Just when had he started caring about her? That was easy, the moment she'd walked into his warehouse. 

"Alright." He said slowly. Faith turned to regard him cautiously. "I'll help, but not for them, not for Buffy, not even for me." Faith's brow creased in a confused frown.

"I'll help for you." He said.


	13. Breakout

**Chapter Twelve**

Breakout 

The sun was sinking low over the City of Angels as yet another busy day drew to an end at Wolfram & Hart. The blinds cast long shadows over Lilah's pallid skin as she watched through a slit in the blinds that covered her offices enormous bay window as hundreds upon thousands of people scurried about their daily lives below, blissfully unaware of the kinds of things that took place behind the closed doors of the firm. There were times when she felt envious of them. Ignorance in many cases was truly bliss, but the harder she thought about it, the more she realised she much preferred knowing what went bump in the dark than just imagining it. 

Slowly the sun sank behind the towering skyscrapers, its harmful rays retreating quickly across the sky as they chased the escaping orb. Grudgingly Lilah lifted the blinds, before turning to stare darkly at the back of the vampire known as Shinji. He was sat, as usual, cross-legged on the floor of the office, three small globes arrayed in front of him. 

"Are they still planning their little rescue attempt?" she asked. Shinji didn't even turn.

"Of course they are." He said flatly. "Not only do we have their friend, but my master has finally worked out what is at stake. They will come, and when they do, my children will be ready for them."

"And what about that Slayer you've got trussed up down there," she said nodding in the direction of the buildings basement, "is the Bleeding nearly complete?" 

"Not until morning."                                      

"Morning!" said Lilah, plainly shocked. What if Angel and that ragamuffin band of his actually succeeded in freeing Buffy? There'd be no blood for the ritual and probably no ritual! She didn't think her employers would take too kindly to that.

"If we drain her too fast, we risk killing her before the Bleeding is complete. The blood needs to be fresh." Lilah gave a defeated sigh. She'd known all this of course, but she'd been hoping that the process would've been a little quicker. 

"When do you think they'll be here?" she asked slowly, craning her neck to try and get a better look at the images floating inside the crystal spheres. The one she could make out clearly was that of the one called Buffy, trussed up like a piece of meat in the vaults beneath the building. She had to admit to feeling a tad concerned about having a Slayer in the building with them. This one especially was notorious. No matter how secure the cell she was locked away in or how diligent the security and vampire guards watching over her were; Lilah wouldn't feel truly safe until the girl was dead. 

"They are readying themselves now." Said Shinji. "They will be here by the time darkness has fallen." Lilah frowned. With the sun already down, darkness wasn't far away. They'd definitely be at the building within the hour.

Slowly and gracefully, Shinji slid to his feet. 

"We must prepare." He said before slipping out of the office, Lilah in tow. 

*****

"So what's the plan again?" Faith shouted over the noise of the engine as Angel's car roared through the streets toward Wolfram & Hart. She'd never really been one for forward thinking and this whole breaking into Wolfram & Hart, finding Buffy and breaking back out reeked of planning ahead. 

"Simple really." Wesley yelled back at her. "Willow will be casting a spell with the aid of Cordelia that will partially neutralise the abilities of the vampire detectors used by Wolfram & Hart. You, King and Spike will be causing a diversion, keeping the main body of their security forces busy. In the mean time Angel, Xander and I will be attempting to locate Buffy and bring her safely out." He reached over and tossed her a small black piece of plastic. Faith caught it gingerly, turning it over in her hands. It was a cell phone.

"We use the cell phones to stay in contact." Wesley explained. 

"What?" said Faith, grinning impishly, "No walkie talkies?"

"Faith," Said Wesley, his voice scolding, "remember what I told you at the hotel. This isn't a school trip. We're trying to break into a very heavily defended bastion of evil." Faith was amazed at how he could say something so blatantly cliché and yet still sound convincing.

"I want you to stay alert at all times, and," he added dangerously, "remember whose side you're on." Faith's playful mood evaporated in an instant at those words. Well what had she expected, unflinching trust?

"We're here." Said Angel, bringing the car to a grinding halt. Faith turned and stared up at the building, a feeling of dread filling her gut as she remembered the building. A large marble block emblazoned with the firms name in metallic hues stood in front of long sloping walls that teetered up into the black night sky. The glass panelling shone brilliantly in the harsh glare of the street lamps, giving the whole building an eerie glow. It looked almost like an enormous glass pyramid. She shivered at the images it recalled, and glanced at the car that pulled up behind them. King sat in the passenger seat next to Xander, his face stony and unreadable. 

Slowly the two cars emptied out onto the sidewalk, Angel dialling a number on his cell phone as he did so. 

"Cordelia, we're here. Is Willow ready?" There was a slight pause as Cordelia's tinny sounding voice gave an affirmative. "Then you'd best get started." Angel finished and clicked the phone shut. The two teams split up, Faith making her way across to King and Spike, trying hard to shake the feeling of unease that had settled deep inside her at the sight of the building. She'd forgotten what it looked like. She glanced over as Angel slipped out into the centre of the road and, with seemingly no effort, slid a manhole cover aside before dropping into the sewers, followed shortly by Wesley clutching a sturdy looking long sword, and Xander with a crossbow and set of bolts slung across his back. Instinctively she patted the row of stakes tucked into the back of her pants, feeling her unease subside a little at the feel of the familiar wooden grain. 

Slowly the three of them made their way across the tarmac and over the paving slabs that lead up to the buildings front doors. As she walked, Faith felt King fall into step beside her. 

"Faith." He said quietly, a touch of urgency in his voice. 

"Yeah?"   

"Things are going to get pretty hairy in there." Faith flashed him a confident grin that she didn't really feel as the memories of her dreams flashed through her mind.

"Wicked obvious." She said. 

"I just want you to be careful." He sounded concerned. "If you see Shinji, don't fight him." Faith drew up suddenly, turning to face him, a frown spreading across her face.

"You think I can't handle myself?" She said accusingly. King watched her for a moment. 

"I know you can handle yourself." He said finally. "I don't think you can handle him." Faith glared at him. 

"I don't need a babysitter." She said angrily. "_I'm_ the Slayer."

"I just want you to be careful." Said King, a look of undisguised worry momentarily flicking through his eyes. He turned away, seemingly embarrassed. "After all, you're going to be watching my back in there."

"Are you two finished, or are we gonna be yammering out here for the rest of the night?" Spike hissed back at them. Slowly, the two of them turned and made their way off over the concrete to the building entrance. 

The lobby was quiet, a lone security guard lounging in a plush looking office chair behind the reception desk with a tattered looking magazine balanced over his face as he snoozed peacefully. A dark looking figure prowled silently just beyond the desk, obviously a vampire from the way he moved. Faith was certain there'd be more lurking in various corridors, waiting in ambush for anyone to break in. It wasn't the best ambush spot she'd seen though. The lobby was far too open to easily trap and surround someone, and the front entrance provided a simple exit unless the vamps had the presence of mind to cut them off. Even then, the glass frontage to the building was hardly sturdy. An exit made in desperation was still an exit, no matter how you made it. All in all, the odds of an even fight in the lobby were looking good. Quietly she crept up and tried the doors. She wasn't surprised when they rattled locked. 

"The doors are locked." She whispered back to King and Spike. King's brow furrowed as he tried to spot another entrance, but Spike simply clambered over the bushes that lined the entrance, grabbing a small potted tree and hurling it hard at the glass doorway. Faith instinctively ducked as the pot sailed over her head and crashed through the glass before smashing on the immaculately polished marble floor of the lobby, spilling dirt across the ground. 

"I guess that way was as good as any." Said King as the sound of alarms began to echo through the buildings cavernous hallways. Spike shrugged and leapt through the ragged entrance to intercept the first of the vamps as they spilled into the room. With a grunt, Faith pulled her first stake into her hand and charged through after him.

*****

In the sewers beneath Wolfram & Hart the sound of alarm bells ringing was little more than a distant wail. Xander unslung his crossbow; loading a surprisingly heavy dart into it as he did so and trying desperately not to sniff the rancid smelling air of the sewers. Crouched above, his legs wrapped sturdily round a rusting ladder, Angel clawed hurriedly at the manhole cover. Xander just hoped Willow's spell was working. If not then Shinji and his vamps would know about the second team's more covert infiltration the moment they stepped foot inside the building. The sound of metal scraping against stone filled the air as Angel heaved the manhole cover aside and disappeared up into the harsh neon strip lit glare of the Wolfram & Hart basements. Wesley went next, and finally Xander clambered out of the stinking hole, Angel sliding the cover back into place behind them. The basement of Wolfram & Hart wasn't what Xander had expected. He'd thought of it being more of a dank and dingy dungeon kind of deal, secreted away from the unsuspecting world above. In truth it was just a basement, plain grey walls linking to a plain grey ceiling and, surprise, surprise, a plain grey floor. In many ways he would have preferred to have a dungeon. 

Cautiously, the trio slipped down the hallway, Angel leading them on a torturous route through the maze of corridors until they finally arrived at an elevator. It surprised Xander as much as any one when the elevator unexpectedly opened, revealing a very attractive, if slightly vampish looking woman in an immaculate black business suit. 

Angel's surprise lasted only an instant as his hand shot out, grabbing the woman viciously by the throat. The woman's eyes widened in fear as his knuckles whitened and he began to squeeze.

"So glad you could meet us Lilah!" he snarled, as his face shifted into vamp mode. "We were going to come and see you, but it's all so much more convenient this way. Now, where is she?"

"I don't know…" Her eyes bulged as Angel's grip tightened. 

"Wrong answer." He hissed.

"But I hones…" Once again, a squeeze from Angel cut her short.

"Blonde girl, about so high, super strong, goes by the name of Buffy." Said Xander, pointing his crossbow straight at the woman's heart. He was through with all this. Buffy was in danger, and he didn't care if this woman was human or not. "Tell us where she is, NOW!" he finished. The woman's eyes flicked across them; as if she were working out whether or not they'd really have the guts to kill her. Finally she nodded and Angel released her. 

"This way." She croaked hoarsely as she massaged her bruised windpipe. 

Xander was surprised as the woman lead them back almost the exact route they'd followed through the tunnels, leading them deeper into the depths of the firm. He didn't like this, didn't like it at all. Gradually they emerged into what appeared to be a large open room. A desk with nothing more than a phone and a few scattered pieces of paper sat empty next to one of a series of doors that linked into the chamber. Lilah lead them across the room to a secure looking steel door, and tapped a code into the pad on the wall next to it. There was a series of loud scraping sounds as the dead bolts that held the door closed slid back and the door swung inward. The room beyond was almost completely pitch black, the only light spilling in from the doorway, stretching each person's shadows across the floor, which was pinpricked with tiny holes. A slight draft stirred something within the room. It was Buffy, trussed up in chains and hanging limply from the ceiling like a piece of raw meat in a butcher's fridge. Long cuts ran along the lengths of both her arms, and a little blood had collected on the floor beneath her. 

"Buffy!" Angel breathed. "What did they do to you?" She lifted her head to look at them, a look of unrestrained relief passing across her face as she recognised them. Suddenly her eyes gave a warning dart to the right as something else in the shadows moved. Xander could almost hear Wesley's grip on his sword tighten. 

"Quite simple really." Slowly a new figure emerged into the column of light that shone through the doorway. The first thing that struck Xander was just how small this person was. He only came up to Xander's chest, but he carried himself with such grace and poise that it was hard to think of yourself as looking down on him. His long dark hair shimmered in the light and Xander was certain he could see a sword at the man's hip. Next to him, another vampire emerged, taller and with a long scar that stretched from one side of his throat to another. He was grinning darkly, something that only looked worse with the scar marking him.

"We've been bleeding her." The small man continued. "As I'm sure my master has told you by now, the blood of a Slayer is necessary for our ritual, and fortunately this girl has been providing us with a generous supply of it." 

"You're sick!" Xander hissed at the man. He smiled revealing a row of glistening white teeth, canines sharpened to vicious points.

"And you're human." The taller one sneered. "Need I say more?"

"So you're Shinji." Said Angel, moving closer threateningly. He rolled his neck, his joints audibly cracking. "I've been looking forward to this." Shinji's smile broadened. 

"You're welcome to try Angel, but I promise you…" his arm moved like lightning, whipping away his dark coat in a flurry of motion, revealing a lean sinewy form. There was a flash of silver in the light, as a wicked looking katana seemed to leap into his fingers. "I'm more than prepared for you." He finished. Angel barely moved aside in time as the sword lashed out for his neck. The tall vampire keeled into a backward role a fury of rapid sword blows reigning down to the floor around him. As he came back to standing, Shinji drew away, his sword balanced carefully in the crook of his arm.

"Very quick Angel." He complimented. "There aren't many I've met as good as you, and each of those are dead now." He stepped forward and bowed, his legs remaining perfectly straight. 

"Unfortunately, there is too much at stake here for me to allow this duel to progress in an honourable fashion." As he said that the sound of feral snarls filled the air. 

"Watch the girl Grachus." He finished, turning away from them and striding back into the corner of the room. Spinning rapidly, Xander caught sight of an imposing gang of vampires who had flooded into the hall outside and cut off their exit. The woman called Lilah glanced furtively between the two groups facing each other off, before turning and fleeing up the hallway.

"Well this is just great." Xander muttered, as the first vamp flung itself at him.  

*****

Faith barrelled into a heavyset vamp, smashing it to the ground and staking it as she rolled clear. The thing just had time to curse before it exploded in a cloud of dust. Nearby, King had snapped one of the small potted trees into a sharp point and was using it as a makeshift pike, whirling and staking anything that came near him. The fight had been going well for them so far, but she could feel herself beginning to tire. They'd have to make a break for it soon. 

Suddenly a vamp grabbed her from behind, bear hugging her tightly as it lifted her into the air. She kicked vainly at it as it squeezed her tightly, causing the air to rush out of her lungs in a muted gasp. Then there was nothing holding her and she found herself falling back to the ground. She tucked and rolled as she hit the floor, bouncing back to her feet almost immediately. She used the moments respite to catch her breath and spot what had saved her. She caught sight of Spike flipping a stake in his hand as he span and caught another vamp squarely in the chest. She smiled slightly, giving him her mental thanks before turning to rush another vamp, when suddenly the cell phone tucked into her leather pants began to ring loudly.  She ducked a punch from an attacking vamp, leg sweeping him as she went low and flicked the phone out of her pants and into her hand. 

"Engine Room, HMS Titanic." She said into the receiver as she flicked the phone open, "Faith speaking, we're a little busy right now but if you…"

"Cut the crap Faith!" Angel's voice was loud and desperate. "We're in real trouble down here. We need help and we need it now!" There was a crackle as a vampire snarled too close to the phone on Angel's end. Faith didn't even pause. 

"Where are you Angel?" she said, nimbly side stepping and staking a vamp as it barrelled past her. 

"In the basement!" said Angel, there was a brief pause as she heard him break off to shout a warning to Wesley. Suddenly there was a loud crack and a whistling sound met by a hiss then a flat dial tone. Angel's phone was gone. 

"Hey you guys!" she yelled over the din of the fight, "Get over here! We need to make a move!" It didn't take long for Spike and King to draw up alongside her. 

"So what's the problem?" Said Spike, "We've got these wankers on the ropes."

"Angel and the others are in trouble." Said Faith simply. "We need to help them." The other two nodded an affirmative and as one, the three of them turned and fought there way toward one of the nearby elevators. As they reached one, Faith jabbed vainly at the call button as the gang of vamps encircled them. They'd been surrounded. There was no easy way out anymore. 

"C'mon, c'mon." she muttered under her breath as the elevator binged its way between floors to meet them. There was a final, cheerful sounding ding as the elevator drew to a stop at their floor, its doors sliding quietly open. Faith was the first one in, jabbing desperately at the button for the basement as she went, followed by Spike and finally by King, using his makeshift pike to keep the attacking vamps at bay. 

"This isn't going the way I hoped." He said as the doors slid shut, neatly decapitating a vamp that had made the mistake of thrusting its head through to try and bite at them. 

"You think so?" Spike sneered sarcastically as the lift lurched into motion, elevator music tinkling cheerily through the speakers as they moved. "We're in the middle of the devil's own law firm, surrounded by an army of vampires and worst of all, having to listen to this!" he jabbed his finger toward the speaker as they descended. King reached up and punched his hand hard through the speaker box, killing the irritating music in an instance. He turned to face Faith and Spike and shrugged. 

"One problem solved." He said simply. Behind him, the elevator doors slid quietly open revealing the desperate looking lawyer woman who'd set Faith free jabbing futilely at the call button. On catching sight of them she rolled her eyes. 

"Not again!" she groaned. 

"You!" King hissed, stepping threateningly toward her. The woman waved him away. 

"Yeah, whatever." She gave a defeated sigh. "I suppose you'd better follow me." It didn't take her long to lead them back to Angel and the others. A large band of vamps had flooded in behind them, trapping them in what looked like a flat walled cell. Faith squinted. She could just make out Buffy dangling from the roof by her arms, swinging out and kicking at any vamps that came near her. 

"You two clear a path out of here." She said, "I'm going to help Angel." She didn't wait for a reply, instead charging head long into the fray, staking vamps left, right and centre as she charged through the throng. She caught sight of Angel, Xander and Wesley fighting back to back. Xander had discarded his crossbow and was instead trying to use his bundle of wooden bolts as stakes. 

"Here comes the cavalry guys!" she yelled as she charged toward them. 

"What took you so long?" Angel yelled back as she staked a vamp that had tried to jump him. Before she could answer him a shape blurred in front of her and suddenly she was rolling on the ground, a long gash opened across her shoulder.

"What the hell…" she began, but she didn't need to finish the sentence. Following the direction of the shape she caught sight of a figure she recognised all too well circling her dangerously. It was Shinji; a katana held in the crook of his arm glinting sharply in what little light there was in the room. 

"Now this is interesting." He said ponderously. "The fallen Slayer coming to the aid of those who treated her so badly."

"They're good people." She said defensively. "They deserve my help."

"Indeed." Shinji nodded sagely. "But the question should be, do they want it?" Faith gritted her teeth and tried to ignore him. 

"Touched a nerve there didn't I girl." He pressed on, sounding horribly satisfied with himself.

"Shut up." She hissed dangerously. 

"I mean these people, they aren't your friends…"

"Shut up."

"They don't love you…"

"Shut up."

"After all, who could ever love a killer?"

"SHUT UP!" Faith screamed at him. "JUST SHUT UP!" With a cry of rage and anguish she flung herself at him. 

She never even saw him move as she hurtled toward him. One moment he was standing in front of her, his sword balanced in the crook of his arm, the next he had stepped back, the sword lashing up into a ready position. The movement caused her attack to fall short and in that brief moment of weakness, she was exposed.

The sword shot forward.

For a brief moment, all was silence no noise penetrating her ears. Then suddenly her nerves exploded in pain. Pure white-hot agony shot through her as she fell back to the floor, clutching desperately at her side where the sword had struck, where she had once been stabbed before. Slowly the world around her began to swirl dizzyingly as she fell back into darkness. 

*****

King didn't even pause when he saw Faith fall. His mind raced as she collapsed back to the floor, clutching in agony at her side. He wasn't going to lose her! Not again, and not like this! Turning, he hurled his pike with such force that it passed through three vampires. Putting his head down, he charged through the clouds of dust that drifted in the air, straight to her side. Shinji watched quietly for a moment, a small smile spreading across his face.

"That'll do for now." He said, wiping his sword clean with a small rag before turning and melting into the ruckus.

"Faith?" King said desperately. Her eyes moved slightly, but she was already drifting into unconsciousness. He had to do something; he had to get her out of here, but what about their mission? What about what they had come here for? He'd promised her he'd do it for her. Turning, he grabbed a vamp by the throat and hurled him across the small room to the sound of a sickening crunch as it thudded heavily against the wall of the cell. Then he was at Buffy's side, his hands moving with a mind of their own as his desperation wracked him. They reached up, taking hold of the chains that bound her, and with one almighty heave, he wrenched them clear of the ceiling. Buffy collapsed into his waiting arms, her eyes opened wide with surprise at the sight of him. 

"What th…" she began, but King wasn't listening. Out of nowhere the vampire by the name of Grachus leapt at him. King barely seemed to move, his hand flicking out and hurling the vampire aside as if he weighed almost nothing. Grachus crashed heavily into the solid wall and lay still.

"Angel!" King roared over the din of the battle. The tall vampire was at his side in an instant, taking Buffy from him, before turning and trying to fight his way back to the exit where the others now waited. 

King turned back to Faith, sweeping her limp body up in his arms as he moved for the exit behind Angel. The escape was little more than a blur in his mind as they fled down corridor after corridor, through the sewers and out onto the streets above, all the time pursued by Shinji's children, his army of vampires. 

Gently, King laid Faith down onto the backseat of one of the two cars, before clambering into the front alongside Angel. The only other vampire to possess a soul shot him a concerned look then gunned the engine and roared off into the night. Behind them, the glass pyramid of Wolfram & Hart shone dully in the night air.


	14. Critical Condition

Chapter Thirteen 

**Critical Condition**

The hospital was a bustle of activity as King rushed through the yawning electrical doors, the bleeding body of Faith cradled gently in his arms. Torn strips from his sweater were wrapped tightly around her side where the sword had plunged into her. At first they'd seemed to work, slowing the blood flow remarkably quickly. They hadn't lasted though. It hadn't taken long for him to smell the blood quickening, and then she was bleeding again, heavier this time, soaking his ragged improvised bandages in a matter of minutes. His eyes were almost weeping in desperation as he rushed through the reception area. He wasn't losing her again. Not again and not like this.

"Somebody help me!" he yelled over the hubbub of the reception. The words sounded alien in his throat. In all his life, both human and vampire, he'd never once asked for help before. 

"Please, somebody help me!" he yelled again, his desperation reaching new heights as he felt her heart beat slowing. Suddenly they were at his side, figures clad in white and blue overalls, tugging her gently out of his grasp and laying her flat on a stretcher. Cries for a doctor echoed through the air as she was wheeled away from him. King found it absurd that he noticed the way one of the wheels on the stretcher squeaked slightly as it rolled steadily away from him. Exhausted and panicked to the point of passing out he sank down into a waiting chair, and closed his eyes. 

He wasn't sure how long he sat there, trying to calm himself. If his heart could have still beaten, it would have been racing. Had his lungs still been able to draw breath, he would have been panting. Determinedly he set his jaw. This was stupid. How could he let himself get so flustered over this girl? How could one person tear him up inside like this? One word echoed around inside his skull. Soonan. But this girl wasn't Soonan, so why did he care? He'd never cared before, so when had he started. His mind roved in circles treading the same path over and over again while he sat there. Did it even matter why he cared? Angel's voice sounded distant to him, quiet and muted, as if he was speaking from the other side of a wall.

"How is she?" he asked. King glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, while he waited for the words to sink in.

"How is she?" Angel asked again. King blinked in surprise, as if he was being asked for the first time.

"Huh… Oh… They haven't said yet." Angel nodded. 

"How about you?"

"What?" said King, his voice flat and emotionless, almost hollow.

"I said ho…"

"I heard you. Why are you asking?"

"You just seem preoccupied. It's not like you." King turned to face him, and for the first time since they'd taken her away, he focused on something other than the doors through which Faith had been reeled on that stretcher.

"Why do you care?" 

"I don't know." Said Angel, seeming to give the question serious thought. "I'm really not sure." 

"Maybe you don't care." said King, turning back to face the doors again.

"That's not true." Said Angel. He sounded genuinely offended. An amused smile spread across King's face.

"But it is. Let's not play games Angel, you're only here to find out if Faith is all right and in the end, that's all that really matters." Before Angel could answer the doors at the far end of the room swung slowly open and a man in a white doctor's coat strode purposefully through them. After a brief discussion with an orderly, a finger was pointed in King's direction and the doctor turned and made his way across the reception to meet him. King practically leapt out of his seat as he made his way over to the doctor. 

"How is she?" he demanded urgently, before the doctor even had chance to speak. "Is she all right?" The doctor eyed him critically for a moment. 

"Your friend has suffered a severe stab wound, Mr…"

"King." He said automatically. The doctor seemed to produce a clipboard out of nowhere and filled in a small set of notes.

"Under the circumstances, I'd say she's been remarkably lucky. Whatever it was made an extremely clean cut and it missed all the major organs, but she has lost a lot of blood. You got her here just in time for us to stabilise her. Had you taken any longer, I'm not sure what would have happened." King felt a huge weight lifted from his shoulders as the man spoke. She was stable. She was going to be fine, save perhaps a scar or two for her trouble. 

The rest of his time with the doctor was spent in little more than a haze as he signed a series of forms and answered as many questions as he could; what relationship was he to the girl? Who was she? Did she have any medical needs or problems they should know about? Was she allergic to penicillin? It seemed endless. Finally he managed to ask the question.

"Can I see her?" The doctor shrugged. 

"If you want to. She's sleeping right now, we had to give her some pretty heavy sedatives for the pain." King nodded in understanding.

"I want to see her. Where is she?" the doctor turned away. 

"I'll show you." He said, striding off down the corridor, King falling into step behind him.

*****

Buffy slumped into the chair in the hospital waiting room alongside Angel, nursing her freshly bandaged arms. She could cope with the sting of the wounds and the freshly daubed antiseptic; after all, during her time as the Slayer she'd had far worse injuries to contend with. What hurt more was the impotent jab of embarrassment she was feeling. She was the Slayer damn it, and yet a vampire had trussed her up and tried to bleed her dry as if she were cattle, and she hadn't been able to stop him! Not only that, she had then been rescued by, of all people, Faith and King. Faith and King! Faith, the girl who'd spat on her attempts at friendship, tried to kill one boyfriend, slept with the other and even stolen her body for a brief period, and King, an ancient and evil vampire with surprisingly good hair care knowledge and a propensity for trying to kill her!

She shook her head. She supposed she ought to be grateful for their assistance. After what she'd seen, the two of them had definitely come through for the group, saving Angel, Wesley and Xander from being completely overwhelmed and Faith even going so far as to get stabbed for the cause. It just chafed that of all the people in the world who could have saved her, it had to be those two. Better to have Spike rescue her than Faith.

"Any news?" Angel asked.

"Nothing." Buffy replied, prodding gingerly at the bandages on her arms. "Xander's been keeping an eye on Wolfram & Hart and he says nothing's come in or gone out that he knows of all day. Spike's going over there in a few hours so Xander can catch a break." Angel nodded in understanding. Xander had been keeping an eye on Wolfram & Hart ever since daylight had broken. Now in mid afternoon, the law firm had been quiet most of the day. Something was wrong and she didn't like it.

"What about Faith?" she asked. Angel shrugged. 

"She's sleeping right now, King's in there with her. They seem to have been getting on quite well together." Buffy's eyes widened. 

"What!" 

"Buffy, don't start..." Angel said as she groaned.

"I should've known you'd be the first to stick up for the two of them. I don't have to remind you what they are."

"Faith's trying to change Buffy, remember?" Buffy nodded.

"All too well, but she should still be rotting in jail. And King, what about him?" Angel gave a sigh of defeat. 

"I'm not sure." 

"Exactly Angel, you're not sure. I don't trust him, and I don't trust Faith with him either." Angel's eyes narrowed at her silent insinuation.

"I think you're going a bit far there. They only met a couple of nights ago."

"Angel, you know what Faith's like. If it happens you've got no idea what he's like, what we're getting, or how pissed he's going to be for what we did to him." She glanced up.

"I've got to see him." She said. 

"Buffy, I don't think that's a good…" She waved Angel away as she turned and made her way off down the corridor to find Faith's room.

*****

King sat silently in the high backed plastic chair, ignoring the discomfort he felt. It kept his mind attuned to the room around him, preventing his thoughts from wandering. Faith lay in the hospital bed, the back adjusted so her upper body was raised at an angle. Her pale skin matched the white hospital gown and crisp white sheets. 

How could they be so alike? Soonan had always been so headstrong, so wilful, just like Faith. Walking into the hospital with her cradled in his arms had reminded him so much of his life long ago, striding through the halls of the palace, Soonan's still bleeding body clutched tightly to his chest as he'd taken her before his master, taken her to show him that he'd won. That night he'd sworn revenge against his master. He'd sworn that the man would die by his hand and no other, and that was when the stranger had come to him. He'd moved out of the night like a ghost, offering him power and the ability to exact his revenge. King remembered that night as clearly as if it were yesterday. The night he'd left his life behind and become what he was now, a creature of darkness. 

He watched the slow rise and fall of Faith's chest as she slept peacefully. She was so beautiful, but not just because she looked like Soonan. There was strength in her, a refusal to give up that he admired. Even now she refused to give up. After everything Angel had told him she'd been through it would have been so easy just to lie down and die. That she hadn't was a testimony to her strength.

"I should have known you'd be involved in all this." He didn't need to look round to know who spoke from just within the doorway. He'd have to be an amnesiac to forget that voice. 

"Get out." He said quietly. 

"No." King's head whipped round to glare at the small blonde girl making her way across the room. He'd never been able to work out how something so small had been able to hurt him so much.

"She wouldn't want you here." He hissed, nodding in Faith's direction. "She wouldn't want you to see her like this." 

"Too bad she's going to have to put up with me." Said Buffy, standing next to the bed, softly touching the other girl's arm.

"Get off her!" King yelled, immediately out of his chair. His hand flashed out, grabbing Buffy's wrist and yanking it away from Faith. "Don't you dare touch her!" he snarled dangerously. 

"Why so protective?" she said, a twinkle of amusement in her voice. Was she laughing at him?

"I…" he couldn't think, his mind tumbled head over heels as he searched in vain for something to say. Buffy nodded silently to herself.

"It's alright to admit it King." She said softly. "You've got a thing for her." King turned away. The modern nights he lived in were a time of crude language, but she'd hit the nail square on the head with that one simple sentence.

"I don't know what to do about it." He said, his voice cracking only slightly. 

"I'll tell you." Said Buffy, her voice flat and unreadable. "Nothing." A dry snort escaped King. 

"You hate her." He said still not turning to face her. For some reason he found looking at her almost unbearable. "You'd do anything to make her unhappy."

"I don't like Faith, you're right there." She paused. "I respect what she's trying to do, atone I mean. But you and her King, it just doesn't fit, no good can come of it and I think you already know that." King looked at Faith lying there so peacefully. Could he really drag her down to his level? Would that be fair?

"You know what you are, and you know what she is. Happiness doesn't come from that; I should know…" she paused again. "I speak from experience." He turned to face her, to tell her she was wrong, that she had always been wrong, but she had already left the room. Slowly he turned to look at Faith. 

He reached down and touched her arm, feeling the warmth of her skin, the pulse of the blood in her veins, the beat of her heart, the feeling of life beneath his dead fingertips. _You know what you are, and you know what she is_. Buffy was right. 

Gently, he wrapped his fingers in between hers, holding her by the hand for only the briefest of moments. 

"I know what I am." He whispered sadly, then turned and strode out of the room. Behind him Faith moaned quietly in her sleep.

*****

Xander had just been having a dream about himself, the entire squad of the Laker Girls and a huge family sized tub of banana yoghurt when he heard the soft tapping on the car window. He cursed himself mentally. Here he was, supposed to be keeping an eye on one of the most heavily guarded and downright evil buildings in the whole of LA, and he'd dropped off! 

Hurriedly he slipped into an upright sitting position, glancing out of the window as he did so. Outside dusk was falling, a dark and overcast sky swirling dangerously overhead. He began to wind the window down as quickly as he could in a desperate attempt to find the source of the noise. A figure dropped into view alongside the window, his arms folding up and resting on the edge of the doorframe as he knelt on the curb. Xander recognised him only too well. It was King.

"What are y…" he began, but King cut him off. 

"I know why you're here boy." King said quietly. "You tell that Slayer of yours what happened here tonight. I'm sure she'll be glad to know she was right about me." And with that he turned and walked off toward the building. Xander sat stunned for a moment, before he clambered out of the car and followed him.

"Hey!" he yelled. "Hey! What are you talking about?" He drew up to a sudden stop. There was another man stood by the front entrance. He was smaller than either King or Xander, but he carried himself with poise and precision. Xander remembered the battle beneath Wolfram & Hart, remembered the vampire with the sword who'd fought Angel and nearly killed Faith. He watched from a distance, barely able to make out what was being said as King stopped in front of him. 

"I knew you'd come master." Shinji said, a touch of smugness in his voice. "It was inevitable."

"You have learned well." Said King, standing perfectly still as he spoke. For a brief moment, Xander thought he could here a touch of sadness in the vampire's voice. "Is the ritual prepared?" Shinji nodded, almost eagerly. 

"Yes master, we have simply been awaiting your return to us." There was a long silence as the two vampires stood, watching one another. Xander was reminded of the standoffs in every spaghetti western. 

"Then let us begin." King said finally, striding past Shinji without even a backward glance. Shinji turned to follow, then for a brief moment, he cast a backward glance at Xander, a dark smile lighting his face. Then he, like King, was gone. 

Xander stood for a moment, confused by what he had just seen. His confusion lasted only a moment, before he was darting back across the concrete, leaping into his car and hurtling off into the gathering gloom.


	15. Spread Your Wings

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Spread Your Wings**

_The stars shone in the sky over the dull desert sands, thin wisps of cloud sliding silently across the heavens. A low mournful wind scoured its way across the dunes, whipping up great clouds of sand as it moved across the desert, rustling the hair of the two girls that stood at the base of the huge sandstone pyramid that tapered up into the dark night sky. _

_Faith glanced up as the wind whistled shrilly at her, disturbing the two birds that perched on her shoulders. The raven let out a loud call in challenge to the swirling desert winds._

_"A storm is coming." She said flatly. The small blonde girl at her side nodded. _

_"A big one." Buffy said._

_"Do you think he knows?" Faith asked._

_"He's inside." Said Buffy, looking straight at the pyramid. "I'd be more worried about us. We need shelter." The shaggy cat on the small Slayer's shoulders licked its lips hungrily at the sight of the birds on Faith's shoulders. Faith reached up and stroked absently at the feathers of the dove, trying to calm it as it shifted uneasily. _

_The two girls continued to search along the sides of the pyramid, the distant winds and swirling sands drawing ever nearer. While Faith felt along the pyramid's rough stone walls, Buffy stood, her eyes watching the distant dunes in absolute silence. _

_"We're not going to make it." She said finally._

_"We will if you help." Faith replied, her fingers following the joints in the stonework. _

_"I can't help." She said, her voice low and sad. "You need to spread your wings Faith."_

_"I don't know how." Faith said. Buffy turned to face her. Behind her the raging wind burst over the brow of the dune, carrying the raging desert sands with it. It howled down the valley so fast, Faith could almost swear it was alive and with a single-minded intent. Her eyes flickered to Buffy again. The small blonde Slayer had sprouted a pair of angelic white wings. She gave Faith a sad smile. _

_"You know everything you need to." She beat her wings and lifted into the air, soaring quickly away from the approaching sandstorm. _

_"Spread your wings Faith." She said one last time as she disappeared. _

_The storm howled in rage as one of its victims escaped its grasp. Faith turned and pounded hard on the walls of the pyramid, desperately searching for an entrance. One of the stones let out a tired sounding groan and vanished into the wall, leaving a yawning black gap in front of her. Without pausing, Faith threw herself into the hole, tucking and rolling as she hit the dusty dry floor beyond. Behind her the storm hurled itself ferociously against the walls and she felt the building shudder as the wind and sand ripped away at it. _

_Slowly she clambered to her feet and began to observe her surroundings. The pyramid was poorly lit with only a few rays of light sprinkling through gaps in the stone. The darkness was pervasive, creeping into her, dirtying her almost as if it were tainting her soul._

_"Are you there?" She asked. There was nothing but the sound of the howling wind. A thin hallway linked into this one large chamber, spiralling up out of sight into the gloom, the flickering light of torches causing shadows to flicker and whirl along the uneven walls. Cautiously she made her way down the corridor, groping gently at its walls as she went. The rough-hewn stone scraped uncomfortably beneath her fingertips while the pyramid continued to quake gently under the force of the storm._

_"Please answer me!" she shouted into the darkness. Again, there was no answer, save the wind. The corridor continued to spiral up and up, seemingly endless as she tramped tiredly between its walls. Finally after what she was sure was almost an eternity, she emerged into a columned chamber full of carved stone pillars that stretched to the slanted ceiling above. At the distant end of the room was a high backed throne and in it sat King. A large lion lay lazily at his feet, its mouth opening in a cavernous yawn that displayed its glistening white teeth. _

_"You shouldn't be here." He said simply. "The storm is coming for me."_

_"You need help." Said Faith walking toward him. The dove and raven on her shoulders began to rustle their feathers uneasily. Outside the storm roared louder, a bellow of pure rage that tore a stone from the wall, letting the sand hurl itself inside. It whipped through the air, scraping viciously at her skin as she moved. _

_"Please!" said Faith desperately, "It can't have you! We need to leave now!" King regarded her quietly for a moment as she moved toward him, his eyes gradually moistening. _

_"I wish I could come with you." He said finally. "But the storm wants me, and I can't disappoint it." As if in answer, the wind ripped a hole in the wall and the air filled with the howling wail of a banshee. _

_"But I can't leave you!" Faith yelled over the noise. "I need you with me!" King clambered to his feet and glared at her. _

_"You don't need me!" he snapped harshly. "You have everything you need. Now spread your wings and FLY!"_

_"But the storm…" _

_"You know how to stop it." He hissed. The ceiling was torn away with a final roar of air and sand. _

"THERE IS NO MORE TIME!" King roared over the wind. "FLY!" and suddenly Faith was flying, large feathery wings riding the air and carrying her higher. The raven on her shoulder let out a shriek of fury and disappointment, lifting off her shoulders in a flurry of feathers and hurling itself into the wind. She looked down to see King watching her.

"FLY!" He yelled at her, as the storm lashed at him, scattering him as dust upon the air. "FLY!" he yelled one last time. Faith felt a lone tear roll down her face, as she soared ever higher. With a final flourish her new pair of wings beat strongly against the wind and carried her toward the heavens.

*****

Faith's eyes fluttered open, the dream still fresh in her mind. All she could see was a harsh white glow from a lamp overhead, and the steady monotone beep of a heart monitor. She frowned. This was a hospital? Why was she in a hospital? What had happened to her? Nervously she glanced through a glass window that stared out into the hall, where she had spied a calendar. She gave a mental sigh of relief when she saw the date. No comas this time thank god.

Cautiously she tried to move and winced as a sharp pain shot through her. Her side hurt like hell. Slowly the memories trickled back to her. Wolfram & Hart, King Shinji, rescuing Buffy, getting stabbed in the side, all of them as clear as day. She tried to move again, more carefully this time, and was relieved when her side only throbbed angrily at her. 

"Faith?" the voice sounded concerned. Gingerly she sat upright, ignoring the pain in her side and turned to face the speaker. Angel was sat in a nearby chair, the remains of a Styrofoam cup of coffee crumpled nervously between his fingers. He looked tense. Faith frowned again. Angel was never tense.

"How are you feeling?" he asked. Faith gave him a weak grin.

"Not exactly five by five, but I'll manage." She glanced around, getting a better look at her surroundings. This hospital was a hell of a lot nicer than the dreary one she'd ended up in back at Sunnydale.

"How did I get here?" she asked. "What happened to the others?" Angel seemed to tense up even more at that.

"Shinji managed to stab you with his sword. When you went down, King fought his way over to you and pulled Buffy down, before picking you up and we made our escape." Faith eyed him suspiciously. He wasn't telling her something, something bad from the looks of him.

"Angel." She said levelly. His answer was no more than a stare. "Where's King?" she asked. Angel gave a long defeated sigh. 

"I'd better get Buffy." He said, rising out of his seat. "There are some things we need to talk about."

*****

Buffy woke from her slumber to find she was slumped uncomfortably in the hospital waiting room's lumpy couch. Scrubbing sleep from her eyes she tried to recall the dream that was already fading from her mind. It had been crazy; that was one thing she remembered. 

"Here." Said Xander, where he sat next to her. She thanked him as he handed her a cup of coffee, despite the fact it was stone cold. 

"How long was I asleep?" she asked. Xander shrugged. 

"One hour, maybe an hour and a half. I'm not really sure." Buffy nodded. 

"What are we going to do Buffy?"

"Huh?" she grunted, momentarily blindsided by the question. Then she understood and let out a long sigh.

"I don't know." She admitted. Despite everything he had done to her, she had to admit feeling a tinge of pity for King. The vampire she'd seen in the hospital room, watching over Faith as if his life depended on hers had been a far cry from the brutal creature she remembered. Of course the soul they'd given him had something to do with that, but she couldn't help feeling that there was something more behind this change in him. It had hurt her more than she'd let on to tell him what she thought of this thing between Faith and he. She knew the look in his eyes, because she'd seen it dozens of times in Angel's. She'd had to tell him though. It was no use pretending that anything could be different between Faith and King than it could've been between her and Angel. Or was she just trying to make herself believe that? Was she so bitter against Faith that she hadn't even allowed the possibility that things could be different here into her mind? 

She gave a quiet moan of frustration. It was all so hard these days. She'd liked it when it had been nice and simple, black and white, chapter and verse. These constant shades of grey were confusing and more importantly, tiring. She couldn't remember a time when she hadn't felt weary with it all, but she knew there had been times when she hadn't felt this way. They were the times she'd patrolled with Faith. Faith had always been livelier, revelling in her role as the Slayer, loving the power of it, but where had been the responsibility? The Slayer wasn't all about being able to bench press a Buick and reflexes that would make a cat green with envy. It was about saving people's lives and fighting the good fight. It was about _responsibility_. Surely there was a way to balance it all. She just had to find that way.

"Look's like Faith's awake." Said Xander next to her. Buffy looked up to see Angel striding hurriedly down the hallway toward them.

*****

King awoke from the dream to find the immaculate furnishings of the office staring back at him, the scent of fresh wood polish filling his nostrils. The blinds behind him were opened revealing the full moon rising gradually up from behind the cities towering skyscrapers, each one glistening with row upon row of lights. It was an amazing place when you looked at it, this jungle of steel and glass. Never in his long life had he ever imagined that places like this would ever exist, but then, they were no more magnificent than any of the other things he'd seen in his time on this world. He'd seen the pyramids and stood at the feet of the Colossus. He'd watched as Roman Empire spread across the known world and drank deeply as the streets of Paris ran red during the French Revolution. He'd seen so much and now that he looked back at it, he realised how little it had all meant to him. The years had drifted by one after the other until they'd blended together. He no longer cared what year it was or what would come next, because like everything else, it would fade away and vanish into the dust. 

The only world he'd ever cared about had been dead for a long time, the world of his life and the love he'd lost to it. How could he ever have done what he did? How could he ever have thought this was what she wanted? To see him going round and round in time, watching as the world rolled past him, stood upon it, but never part of it. 

"Egypt." He said softly, remembering the land he'd called home for so long. He hadn't been born there, but the only things that had ever meant anything to him had been there. He remembered the night he'd left, when the fearful people of the city had stormed his former master's pyramid, forcing the creature that haunted that crypt out into the desert. He'd nearly died that night, and it was then that he'd decided that vampires were superior to humans. They may have beaten him had he stayed, but he would have taken untold numbers with him. He'd never realised before then just how fast he'd become, or just how strong. It was then he'd realised that humans were nothing to him anymore, nothing more than food for the creature at the top of the food chain. So why was he so confused now? Human's meant nothing to him, never had, but there was one human who did. A young girl lying asleep in an uncomfortable bed, a gaping hole in her side thanks to a vampire. 

He glanced down at robes he was wearing, soft and silken, and layered with esoteric symbols written in a language that was never meant to have been spoken by human tongues. He remembered its harshness, remembered the violence inherent in it. That was his world now, and was all his world had ever been. This reminiscing over his long lost humanity was pointless. He knew what he was and it wasn't human. 

Slowly he span in the chair to stare out of the window over the city that seemed to stretch on forever. He just hoped Faith saw it his way.


	16. Self Help

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Self Help**

Shinji watched from his position where he was seated on the floor, his legs folded neatly beneath him as Grachus paced back and forth across the hallway outside the office door. There had been something wrong with Grachus recently. He'd been restless and agitated, far from the things Shinji had taught him. Calm and collected, that was the way of things. To be anything else was simply a waste of precious energy. 

"I don't like this Sire." Said the scarred vampire, his voice rasping quietly as he nodded in the direction of the office door. Shinji knew what he meant. Beyond it lay his master, and while Shinji had known all along that a soul would be no bar to his master's feelings, Grachus was suspicious, and maybe even a touch jealous. He was used to being the foremost in Shinji's estimations and to have another come along and turn that on its head seemed to be aggravating to the younger vampire. Shinji smiled. Like an only child, he hated to share his toys.

"What is not to like?" said Shinji finally, turning to face the row of crystal balls that were arrayed before him. In them he could see the two Slayers and in the third his master glowed. He frowned slightly.  He had been sat in that office staring out of the window for hours now. Even Shinji had to admit he was disappointed. His master was hollow, the passion he'd once taught and led with seemingly drained away, leaving only the shell of something that had once been great behind.

"Our King has returned to us, and we have the blood of the Slayer." He continued, trying to convince himself that he wasn't wrong. "The ritual approaches and soon the vampire race will be in ascendancy. We shall walk the night as gods once more, and nothing on Earth will stand before us." Grachus nodded. 

"I understand Sire, but something doesn't feel right. I don't trust him." He said nodding toward the crystal ball that glowed with King's image. "And I think you underestimate the Slayers. The one you defeated is already awake and moving again. Even vampires aren't so quick to heal." Shinji smiled slightly. Grachus had always had a touch of Slayer phobia, but that was to be expected among the young. To the young, the Slayer was something to be talked of only in hushed whispers and dark corners. To the old, the Slayers and those who aided them were nothing more than jumped up humans who thought that by killing mere children, they were helping save the world. Many had no idea of what it was that really walked in the darkness, what true terrors sat watching humanity from the shadows.

"He will be our salvation." He said, his voice ringing with a confidence he didn't feel. "He will deliver us from this plague of Slayers, and as for these two, when they come they shall be dealt with."

"What about the blood?" Shinji frowned again. Now there was a problem. The bleeding had been interrupted and they had very little fresh blood with which to perform the ritual. There was some concern among his followers that they didn't have enough. The rites were surprisingly unclear about jut how much was needed. 

"Let me worry about that." The two vampires glanced up to see King stood in the doorway to the office, watching them. "All I need is the ritual prepared and ready. The blood is my concern." Shinji nodded. 

"As you wish my King." He said. There was something there in those eyes. A touch of the vampire he had once been? Shinji hoped so.

"Now the two of you should work. The ritual must be prepared before the moon reaches its zenith." The two of them nodded again, Shinji moving to his feet and secreting the crystal orb around his person as he did so. As they began to walk away, King called out to them.

"Grachus." His voice was low and threatening. The youngest of the three turned to face him. 

"Yes King." Shinji was amazed at the complete lack of respect in his voice. If he had ever addressed Shinji in that manner, he would never have lived past dawn rise. King, on the other hand, simply stood calmly in the doorway. 

"Come here." He said. Grachus' eyes flickered to Shinji who smiled darkly. This was the Sire he remembered. Warily, the young vampire moved across the room. 

"Kneel." Said King, his voice held an almost silent command. Grachus shook his head. 

"I kneel only to…"

"KNEEL!" King's roar seemed to shake the room. "KNEEL OR I WILL MAKE YOU!" Grachus' bravado buckled and he collapsed to one knee. Without warning, King's hand shot forward and caught the youngster by the chin. With no effort at all, he squeezed and tilted Grachus' head back so he was staring up into his eyes. 

"Do you see how easy that was?" he whispered harshly, "How easily I humbled you? A vampire should be strong, confident and proud. Never forget that." He shoved hard sending Grachus reeling onto his backside. 

"Now get to work." He hissed as he turned and strode back into the office. Grachus scrambled hurriedly to his feet, his eyes still blinking in surprise. 

"Yes, my master." He said, sounding a trifle embarrassed by the whole thing. His answer was nothing more than the door to the office slamming in his face. Shinji chuckled softly as they walked away. It was the master he remembered! 

Without a word he produced the crystal sphere that held the image of King and regarded it for a moment. He smiled briefly, then squeezed. Splintering cracks scattered across its smooth surface, angling the light sharply but still he squeezed. He squeezed tighter and tighter until the ball exploded in his hand in a shower of glass.

"He will be our salvation." He said again under his breath.

*****

Buffy couldn't help but notice how much Faith had changed in the last two years. Oh, physically she looked the same, a little gaunter perhaps as a result of prison living, and her hair was a little longer, but it wasn't those things she noticed. The young brunette Slayer was a different person to the one she remembered. She seemed smaller some how, her manner now less large and overwhelming than before. Her eyes were sadder, and some of the life and sparkle that she remembered so well seemed to have faded. She seemed so tired now, so sad and so tragic. Buffy almost felt sorry for her. 

Almost. 

The rogue Slayer was pacing, somewhat stiffly, around the room, one hand pressed lightly to her side and cupping her wound. She kept glancing furtively out of the door, as if she expected someone to walk in at any moment, as if King was coming back. Buffy couldn't believe how attached the two of them seemed to have become over just a matter of days. It was unreal.

"It can't be true." Said Faith shaking her head. "King wouldn't do that."

"Wouldn't do what?" Said Buffy sarcastically. "Play us? Switch sides on us then laugh while we twisted in the wind? Oh I think he would."

"I know he wouldn't betray us like that, not after what he promised me. Angel, you know I'm right? King wouldn't betray us right?" Said Faith still shaking her head in disbelief. Buffy glanced over at where Angel sat his shoulders slumped tiredly.

"I…" He began then faltered slightly. "I don't know." He said finally.

"You don't seriously think he could do something like this?" Faith said, her voice ringing with disbelief. "I mean he helped us rescue Buffy! He fought with us in the alley!" 

"He's also tried to kill me twice Faith, and done a damn good job of it on both occasions." Buffy said, trying to remind Faith of what they were dealing with.

"Buffy's right." Said Angel dejectedly. "If even half the stories I've heard are true, he's capable of just about anything." Faith shook her head again.

"I don't believe that for a second." Buffy gave a long groan.

"For God's sake Faith! King isn't a nice guy; he's not a charity worker or some puritan priest! He's a stone cold killer!" Faith shot her a dark look. 

"I know exactly what he is." She said and the venom in her voice took Buffy aback. 

"Good." She said, a slight feeling of unease in her stomach. "Then you'll help us." 

"Help you do what?" Buffy regarded her for a moment. Could she trust Faith? Okay, she might be trying to reform but that didn't make her immediately Buffy's favourite ally. The girl was never certain which side she wanted to fight for. 

"We're going back to Wolfram & Hart." She said finally. "Tonight's the full moon, and they'll be readying the ritual. We're going in and we're stopping it any way we can." Faith stopped pacing and stared at her, disbelief shining in her eyes. 

"You're going to kill him." She said numbly. 

"If killing him will save the world, then yes." Faith continued to watch her.

"No." she said at last.

"What?" Said Buffy, her voice rising dangerously.

"I said no. I won't help you kill him. More than that, I won't let you kill him." 

"Are you retarded or something?" Buffy snapped angrily. "He's trying to create an army of demons Faith, and killing him is the only sure-fire way to stop it!"

"Then think of another one, because you're not going to kill him."

"He's a vampire Faith, a ki…"

"Don't you dare say he's a killer!" Faith snapped viciously. "Don't you dare judge him the way you do everyone else, the way you judged me! He deserves better than that!"

"Faith, would you just lis…"

"No Buffy, for once you're going to listen to me! You gave King a soul, you gave him a second chance, and that means you're responsible for it! You gave him humanity and that means the whole package; anger, happiness, fear, confidence, hate and love and you can't just take all that away because it's more convenient for you! You're just giving him a life to lose, and I won't let you! Do you hear me?" She paused briefly, her breathing heavy from the effort of shouting.

"We're Slayers." She said, her voice suddenly sounding so full of understanding, an understanding Buffy never thought she'd see in Faith. "Not murderers." And with that she turned and walked out of the room, the wound in her side seemingly forgotten. Buffy sat for a moment or two, trying not to let her mouth hit the floor. 

"Faith!" she yelled finally, clambering out of her seat, about to pursue the other girl. 

"Faith!" she yelled again.

"Let her go Buffy." 

"But Angel…"

"Let her go!" Angel snapped at her. "She needs this." Buffy turned a disbelieving stare on the tall vampire seated next to her. He was protecting her again! What was it with Faith and coming between her and the people she loved? The girl was turning it into an art form!

"Angel, this is the end of the world as we know it. Again! Armies of Hell unleashed on Earth. It's no time for coddling and self help groups!"

"I know what the stakes are Buffy." Angel said. "The amount of times we've saved the world, I'd have to be a fool not to, but maybe this time it's not about us. Maybe this time it's about her." He glanced up at the door where Faith was just visible, arguing animatedly with a hospital orderly who was trying to get her to return to her bed.

"Maybe this time it's Faith's turn." Buffy turned and followed his gaze to where the brunette Slayer stood. She gave a soft sigh.

"I hope you're right." She said finally.

*****

Spike stood in front of Angel's weapons rack, silently perusing which of the vicious looking axes he was going to take into battle with him. Nearby, the others were preparing too. Buffy was seated at the couch in the centre of the room, sharpening an assortment of stakes, each a different shape and size. The other girl, the one called Faith was stretching, seeing how far she could push herself before the pain in her side became too much. She'd been lucky to make it out of the hospital. Even with her Slayer strength and healing, that wound was not just some paltry little scratch. It had nearly killed her. Harris was busy stretching a crossbow string taught across his weapon of choice, a row of small wooden bolts aligned neatly at his side. Red was assembling herself a little bag of tricks and Angel was busy dragging a whetstone along the blade of his broadsword.

How had he ever got himself into this? He was the big bad, killer of two Slayers, now neutered by a secret government agency and about to march to almost certain death alongside a weird assortment of freaks, Joe normals, Wicca and super humans. It was like something off the telly! How had it happened to him, to him of all people? He knew the answer of course. It was an answer that buzzed around inside his skull like an irate insect, bouncing back and forth across the surface of his mind, a single repeating word. Buffy. That damned Slayer had him ensnared the same way she'd trapped Angel. She was like a spider to pussy whipped vampires drawing them in and twisting them round to her point of view, and now she'd done it to him and he absolutely hated it. 

If he'd had the choice, he'd have gotten this bloody chip out a long time ago and gone on hunting her. In the end he realised it didn't matter who killed whom, who won and who lost. What would matter is that it would have been right. It was the way things were meant to be, vampire versus Slayer. None of this pissing about in the shades of grey that lurked in between. It was such a simple dynamic it was beautiful. 

He gave an inner groan. What was he doing? Mulling over things like this, the great unanswerable questions of who he really was and what his purpose here served were the kinds of things he'd done when he was human, the kinds of things he'd become a vampire to get away from. He'd wanted a simpler life and he'd got it and loved it. Now look at him. He was a twat and a twat in love at that. 

What about Dawn? To claim that all his current problems were based solely around Buffy wasn't entirely true. Her sister played a role in it as well. Yes, if he hadn't gotten this chip in his head he probably would have killed her, killed her and drained her dry, or at least he would have if she'd existed then. He rolled his eyes in frustration. Yet another example of just how complicated his life had become. In the good old days he wouldn't have had to worry about how none existent fifteen year old girls, made up of ancient mystical energy that was the key to the myriad dimensions and planes of existence, _felt_ about him. Not real she may be, but when she looked at him recently, with those innocent eyes full of silent accusation, it hurt more than he could bear.

He snagged one of the axes by the handle and lifted it, his wrist flicking the wicked half moon blade gracefully through the air as he did so. The blade was finely crafted, well balanced. He gave it another testing flick and nodded as it arced round with little effort. This one would do nicely. He turned and looked across the lobby. Dawn was stood talking to the nervous girl with the heavy Deep South accent. Cautiously he made his way across the room, trying no to let her see his approach. Slowly he moved up behind her, tucking the axe into his belt loop as he moved, his long leather coat covering it excellently. 

"Wish me luck nibblet?" he asked the young girl. She turned to look at him

"Don't talk to me." She said, her voice carrying an edge of sharpness to it. "Just leave me alone." Spike rolled his eyes.

"Aww c'mon Dawn. I did what I had to. You can't still be thinking I enjoyed torturing that vamp."

"It's no good lying about it Spike. I saw what you did to him." Spike looked at her sadly.

"Dawn please," he began, "my life's already hit the bottom rung. Don't do this to me, don't kick the ladder out from under me just because of some vampire who isn't worth the bother." Dawn looked at him sadly. 

"He's no different to you Spike. Does that mean you're not worth caring about either?" Spike was interrupted by Buffy's shout over the heads of the others. He wouldn't have been able to answer even if she hadn't shouted. 

"Is everyone ready?" Buffy said when she had everyone's attention. A round of nods greeted her. "Good. If anyone's got anything to say they should say it now, because we're leaving." 

"If anyone touches King they'll have me to deal with." Spike glanced at the Slayer called Faith. She was stood staring defiantly at Buffy from the middle of the lobby. The girl had a pair on her, he had to give her that. 

"Okay then." Said Buffy, ignoring her. "The sun's down and its time we got moving." Slowly the group began to file out one by one, Spike moving between Angel and Willow. He was almost at the door when he heard Dawn cry out. 

"Spike!" she yelled. He turned to see her dashing across the polished lobby floor, just in time to catch her as she threw herself into his arms, hugging him fiercely. For a moment he was stunned, completely unsure as to what to do, then he did something he never thought he'd have ever done. He returned the hug, squeezing the girl tightly in his arms. 

"Don't die." She whispered in his ear and then pulled herself free of the embrace. Spike smiled devilishly at her.

"Already have done." He said, then turned and strode out of the hotel toward the waiting cars.


	17. Into the Maw

**Chapter Sixteen**

Into the Maw 

Faith sat in the back seat of Xander's car, her fingers drumming agitatedly on her knees as the vehicle hurtled through the night. Buffy was sat up front with Xander, both of them staring straight out into road with a grim determination. Everything had changed so much since she'd last seen them all. Buffy seemed hollow, as if she had given up on life and was running only on autopilot. Xander seemed more grown up, less of a boy and much more a man. His already broad frame had filled out giving the former high school nerd a physique that a lot of football jocks would be proud of. 

She tried not to wince as the car lurched unexpectedly over a pothole, jarring her wounded side violently. She tried to focus on something else and lighted on Willow. Of all of them, it was Willow who'd changed the most. The bag that sat at her feet bulged with all manner of herbs, mixing pots, gourds and surprisingly, weapons. The once nervy computer geek, who Faith remembered most for aimless nattering when she was nervous and her fuzzy pink sweaters, had come along way in the last two years. Instead of nerves and stuttering sentences, she radiated a quiet confidence, and seemed almost, well, a touch arrogant. 

She reminded Faith a little of herself when she'd first come to Sunnydale all those years ago. She was buzzing off her newfound power; amazed by the doors it opened up to her and of the possibilities it held. No longer was she forced to fit herself into the niche society had carved for her. With her newfound skills she could be anything she wanted to be, do anything she wanted and have anything she wanted. The world was hers for the taking. Faith shivered slightly as the memories flooded through her. She'd be lying to herself if she pretended the temptation wasn't there anymore, but she remembered where it had taken her the last time and she was fighting harder now, clawing her way out of the hole she'd dug for herself. She just hoped Willow was smarter than she had been, smart enough to drop the shovel before she dug herself in too deep.

The car drew to a silent halt outside the Wolfram & Hart building and once again Faith felt a queasy sensation of unease fill the pit of her stomach at the sight of the almost completely glass pyramid. It was too close to her dreams to be coincidence. Somewhere inside was King, and she had to bring him out of there. She couldn't just abandon him the way Buffy wanted her to. She couldn't explain why, but she felt something unusual about him, a connection that she'd never had with anyone before, not even Angel. She had to get him back. It was the only thing that would ever make her feel good about herself.

The group slid out of the car, as Angel, Spike and Wesley clambered out of the car in front. The two groups assembled briefly on sidewalk, staring up at the building's glistening form, for the second time in as many nights. Most people would have been brighter than to come back again after the ass kicking they'd received the last time. Faith's side throbbed painfully at the memory.  

"Everyone ready?" asked Buffy to be greeted by a round of nods. She stood perfectly still then took a deep breath. "Okay then. Let's do this." The mismatched band of vampires, Slayers and Wicca moved off toward the building. 

*****

King strode into the luxuriant executive suite, his long silken robes rustling quietly as he moved across the room. At his side, Shinji walked calmly, his trusty katana balanced carefully in the crook of his arm. The lawyer woman was standing off to the side while some of Shinji's more able vampires daubed symbols of arcane power across the walls and floor in human blood. Flickering candlelight sent shadows whirling dizzyingly around the room and the still wet blood glistened brightly in the warm glow. Not for the first time, King felt a twinge of doubt pass through him. Was he doing the right thing? He gave a mental shrug. He was a vampire. Whether or not he was doing the right thing was not, nor had it ever been, his concern. 

He approached the centre of the room where a triangle had been painted crudely across the floor. Along each side, another triangle had been painted, its base running parallel to the original, making a huge triangle that stretched across the floor of the room, consisting entirely of the original four parts. Within each triangle, dark symbols had been painted and shone wetly in the light. 

Taking great care not to disturb any of the rituals symbols, he stepped into the centre triangle, and watched placidly as three vampires dressed in similar robes to him, placed a set of bowls at each point of the four triangles. The outer bowls were merely candleholders, but the inner ones were filled with various pieces of the human anatomy. King wondered briefly just how many people had been killed so this ritual could take place. He shook his head. Before they'd given him back his soul he wouldn't have even cared.

One of the robed vampires, the tallest, approached him with a wicked looking dagger that glinted threateningly as he moved. 

"Let us begin." King said. The vampire nodded silently and moved up to him. The two stood, staring at each other for a long time. Suddenly the vampires arm shot forward, the sharp steel of the dagger slicing straight into Kings heart. Kings eyes widened in pain but he refused to cry out. He would do this in silence. The vampire twisted the dagger, increasing the blazing agony that had already shot through him tenfold. Slowly but surely, the dagger was pulled free. King had to work not to visibly sag as it finally slipped out of his heart. The vampire turned and handed the dagger to another, at the same time being passed a bowl. The bowl filled with the Slayer's blood. The vampire dipped long fingers into the bowl, swirling them in the blood, tracing intricate patterns across its rippling surface. With a slight smile, he lifted his fingers out and gently began to daub the blood onto the wound over his heart. 

The moment the blood touched him; King felt it stir at the back of his mind. The smell of the Slayer, the feel of her blood on his body drove the creature, cursing and spitting, out of the depths of his mind. It hurtled through him like a whirlwind of bile and hatred, screaming at him to kill, maim and slaughter all those around him. It roared depravity after depravity inside his skull, slipped through his mind and howled nothing but rank corruption into his soul. And then King understood. He knew what the truth of his vampire existence was. It was what this thing, this interloper in his mind was screaming for. It was death and dissolution, degradation and corruption. It was pure vileness. And in that single moment, he knew that his choice to come here, his decision to conduct the ritual had never truly been a choice at all. It had been inevitable. 

Suddenly the spitting and hissing rage fled to the corners of his mind as he was drawn out of his reverie. He could here alarm bells ringing, their mournful wail echoing loudly through the building. They were here. The Slayers and their friends had come. He glanced at Shinji, who nodded in understanding. 

"Grachus." He hissed. The scarred vampire pushed his way through the assembled vampires and stood at his Sire's side. 

"Yes master?" he said simply. 

"Do not let them reach us." Grachus nodded.

"Yes master." He said again then turned to the others. 

"All of you," he shouted over the din of the alarm bells, "come with me. We've got ourselves some Slayers to kill." The vampires let out roars and yells of delight, and began to flood out of the room, Grachus at the head. As they flooded past him, King watched as Shinji pulled a globe from inside his jacket. It was one of the scrying spheres he'd used to watch over them the entire time this little drama had unfolded. King could just make out the figures of Faith and Buffy behind the shimmering mists that seemed to cloud both spheres. 

"You always knew they would come." He said. Shinji nodded grimly.

"Yes master, I just hoped it wouldn't be so soon." King smiled, a gesture that drew a frown from Shinji. 

"Master? Are you alright?" King ignored the questions and turned back to the vampire with the bowl of blood. 

"Continue." He said. Everything was going the way he had planned it. Slowly the smile drained away. He just hoped they could go through with it.

*****

A veritable wall of vampires stampeded across the reception area toward the small band of interlopers. Faith tugged a stake free from the back of her pants and dropped easily into a fighting stance along side Buffy. She had never seen so many vampires in one place at the same time. They roared and cursed the Slayers, shouting jibes and taunts as they hurtled forward. Behind them, Faith heard Willow begin to chant. She glanced over her shoulder to look at the girl, her eyes widening at what she saw. Willow was hovering a good foot or so above the ground, her arms extended, palm up with her fingers arched and tense, flickering fire dancing from tip to tip. She couldn't make out what the girl was chanting when suddenly, at her feet the bag of tricks began to move. 

"If I were you guys I'd duck." Said Xander helpfully. Faith didn't need telling twice. She hit the deck along with Buffy as at least twenty stakes hovered clear of the bag. They floated in the air, as if on wires, each one tracking a different vampire.

"Escendera!" Willow yelled and the stakes hurtled forward. Not one of them missed and twenty vampires exploded into dust. Faith didn't waste any more time. Clambering to her feet, she charged forward and with a kamikaze scream she flung herself into a flying kick. The kick connected jarringly with a vampire's chest, flooring the creature as she smashed into him. Without pause, she straightened her legs and landed perfectly, sweeping her arm out and down, her stake plunging into the vampire's heart.

Buffy was right behind her, charging headlong into the melee, her arms working a blur as she staked vamps left, right and centre. Faith rolled clear of her first kill and span up to stand back to back with the other Slayer. 

"You've gotten better." She said, flipping her stake like a gunslinger. Buffy looked back over her shoulder at her. 

"So have you." She said and dashed forward. Faith watched her for a moment, watched the way she moved, and then followed her in as they hurtled for the other end of the reception. She never saw the fist that flashed out and caught her in the gut. Her breath exploded out of her as she buckled and collapsed to the ground. Still gasping for air, she felt a boot press down hard on her back, as a strong fingers wound through her hair and yanked her head back. 

"Just where you deserve to be Slayer." The voice in her ear was dry and raspy. It was Grachus. "On the bottom of my boot." She heard the familiar crunching sound as his face shifted. 

"It's time I finished what my master began!" he hissed. Then suddenly he was off her back. Faith rolled to her feet, her breaths laboured and heavy as she tried to regain her equilibrium. Nearby Angel and Grachus had hit the ground in tangle of arms and legs, snarls of fury and rage emanating from the two of them as they rolled across the floor. Suddenly Angel had broken free and sprung to his feet. Grachus took a little longer, backward rolling away from Angel before scrambling hurriedly up into a standing position. His longer recovery gave Angel all the time he needed. Without pausing Angel swept forward, batting away a weak block and wrapping his fingers around the other vampires throat. He heaved Grachus off the ground and spun him to meet with one of the Willow controlled flying stakes that was zipping through the air. Grachus frowned in disbelief as the stake shot straight through his heart and he crumbled away into dust. Sparing only a moment to ensure Faith was all right, Angel turned and flung himself back into the battle. 

"Faith!" Buffy's voice echoed over the sounds of battle. "Faith!" Faith glanced around desperately, and finally saw her. The small blonde Slayer had battled her way across the room to the elevators at the back. She gave a deep grin and set off toward the elevator. At last things were looking up. 

"Which floor?" she asked as the two of them clambered inside and the doors hummed quietly shut. 

"I'm sure one of the vamps said something about the sixteenth before his behaviour forced me to introduce him to the business end of Mr Pointy." Said Buffy. Faith gave a shrug. 

"Who am I to argue with tact like that?" She said and hit the button for sixteen. Slowly the elevator rumbled into life.

*****

Shinji gave a frustrated growl. He'd been watching the whole thing, watched in astonishment as the witch had slung her stakes at his children, watched with pride as Grachus brought the one called Faith to the ground, watched with disgust as he had then fallen to pathetic excuse for a vampire called Angel, and finally watched with mounting horror as the two Slayers had reached the elevator. How could his children be so incompetent? They outnumbered their attackers by at least three to one!  How could they have let the Slayers through? He growled furiously again, and turned back to watch the ritual. 

His master had dropped to his knees as the three elected to perform the ritual stood at each point of the triangle around him, chanting softly. King's eyes were closed, an eerie sense of stillness surrounding him as he knelt there. Shinji watched as the lead of his chosen vampires slipped silently to his feet, the bowl containing the Slayer's blood clasped tightly between his dead fingers. Without a word he daubed a crude looking symbol across his master's forehead and handed him the bowl. King's eyes flashed open as the bowl was placed in his hands. The vampire retreated to his position at the head of the triangle and resumed his cross-legged seating position. Slowly the chanting resumed, the bowl still clutched tightly in King's fingers. With his index finger, he dipped into the blood and drew two more lines across his cheeks. 

Shinji glanced back at his crystal spheres. The two of them were still in the elevator. He had no fear of facing one Slayer, but facing down two of them at once was perhaps tilting the odds slightly in their favour. But right now he didn't have any other choice. The rest of his children were wrapped up down in the reception area and these three were needed to complete the ritual. With a long sigh he slammed the crystals down on the table and turned to walk out of the room. 

Slowly the three of his children began to rise but he waved them away. 

"Complete the ritual." He said and disappeared out of the doorway. He never noticed Lilah cross the room and slip the crystals surreptitiously into her bag, before slipping out of a side door to an adjoining room.

After locking the doors, he crossed the hall outside the executive suite to the elevator doors and without even slowing down, wrenched them open and leapt into the shaft. His hands wound tightly around the cable that ran the length of the shaft, and he slithered expertly down to meet the ascending elevator. 

*****

Faith was surprised, to say the least, when a thump from above shook the whole elevator carriage. Something was on the roof! She glanced at the floor counter. They were at the eleventh floor, only five more to go. She heard the slight snick from overhead, the sound of a sword being pulled free of its scabbard. She turned to Buffy who seemed to have heard it too. 

"Duck!" they both yelled at each other and hit the deck just in time as a vicious steel blade ripped through the roof of the elevator and swung expertly through the air. If Faith had still been standing, she'd have been a good head shorter by now. 

"It's Shinji!" she yelled over the sound of tearing metal as the sword lashed down again, this time tearing a line out of the roof at a right angle to the previous one. 

"You think?" Buffy shouted back sarcastically. Faith glanced up at the counter. It read thirteen, three more floors to go. The blade punched through the roof again, once again tearing a line at ninety degrees to the last that ran parallel to the first. Then she caught sight of him, or rather his fingertips, as they slipped down through one of the gaps he had torn, wrapped tightly around the inside of piece of metal and wrenched it away leaving a jagged metal hole in the ceiling. The counter flicked from the five of fifteen to a six and the elevator let out an electronic ping as the doors hissed open. The sword flashed down again, cutting off the exit in a blur of razor sharp steel. It hummed as it cut through the air. Faith backed up slightly and charged forward, timing her role just right to sweep past the sword as it lashed out at her. She turned just in time to see Buffy try the same stunt. The smaller Slayer backed up, her lips moving as she silently counted down to herself. Suddenly and without warning she leapt forward as Shinji's sword lashed in an arc that swept across the doorway. A smile spread across Faith's face. He'd missed her; she was going to clear the door. 

Buffy leapt…

…and a pale hand slipped in through the hole that had been torn in the roof. Long dexterous fingers caught her throat as she jumped and hauled her quickly up through the hole. 

"Buffy!" Faith yelled starting back toward the elevator, but the other Slayers desperately swinging feet caught the button for the top floor and the doors rumbled shut as the elevator began to move off up the shaft. 

"Buffy!" she yelled again, prying the doors open and wincing as she felt one of her fingernails rip as she pulled. Finally the doors slid open, but the lift was gone, rumbling up the shaft overhead. Faith cursed loudly as she watched the lift slide away into the darkness of the shaft.  

Slowly she turned and stared down the corridor. There was no movement. No nothing. Was this really the right floor? She stood in silence, listening. Then she heard them, voices chanting softly from somewhere nearby. With the grace and poise of a cat she slipped forwards down the hallway pausing to listen outside each door. 

Finally she drew up outside a pair of large oaken double doors. She assumed they must lead to a conference room of some sort. Just inside she could hear voices, three of them flowing in a dark sounding litany. Gingerly she tried the door. It clicked an affirmative to her suspicions. Locked. She straightened and backed away, raising her foot up high. God she hoped this worked. It always did in the movies but that was no guarantee in real life. Her foot crashed forward, the door groaned, splintered and slammed open, its puny lock splintering like a toothpick. The room beyond was like something out of Hellraiser. Its walls were painted with blood and flickering candles gave the room a sense of brooding menace. Three figures - she assumed they were vampires - dressed in strange silken robes were sat at three points of a massive triangle that was made up of four smaller triangles. Each vampire was chanting quietly, and there, sat at the very centre of the middle most triangle with his back turned to her, was King.


	18. Who Am I?

Chapter Seventeen 

**Who Am I?**

The three vampires reacted almost immediately to Faith's unexpected interruption. They clambered to their feet, their robes rustling loudly as they moved. They moved intelligently, stepping around to blitz her, one from the front and two from the sides. Behind the one in front of her she saw King raise something to his lips. It looked like nothing more than a plain pewter bowl of some sort, but the mere sight of it infused Faith with a feeling of dread. She would lay odds against evens that Buffy's blood was in that thing, and King drinking it probably wasn't such a good idea given the current state of their surroundings.

Suddenly the three vampires rushed her. Faith back peddled in a desperate attempt to keep the vampires in an arc in front of her. She needed to get to that bowl before he could drink from it. As the vampires closed in she reached for her spare stake, twirling it up into a solid grip before hurling it at the vampire in front of her. It ripped into the creature's heart and the vamp exploded in a cloud of dust. She didn't waste her advantage. Following the stake in, she slipped expertly through the guards of the other two vamps, her stake flying out and catching one square on the heart. At the same time her free elbow swung out and caught the other vampire on the bridge of the nose. The creature reeled back in surprise and as it went she span to catch the thing with a downward sweep from her stake. 

With the three vampires gone and her path clear she charged forward for King, leaping at him in an effort to reach him sooner. She grabbed desperately for the bowl as she flew through the air, her fingers snagging it as she hurtled past. King adjusted his grip and clutched the bowl even more tightly. Faith tucked and rolled into a standing position, turning to face him as she did so. 

"Don't!" she yelled as he raised the bowl to his lips. He paused, eyeing her warily.

"Please!" she begged him. "Please don't drink." King watched her, the bowl still held quivering at his lips. 

"I knew you'd come." He said finally. "I knew you wouldn't let me do this."

"Damn right I wouldn't let you do this." Said Faith moving toward him. "I mean you're trying to end the world! Kind of a bind when I'm on it." 

"You're so like her." He said, lowering the bowl slightly, a wistful smile passing across his lips. "So like her, and yet so like me." His eyes darkened at that.

"King please!" she said again, raising her hands pleadingly. "Put the bowl down. I know you don't want to do this." King cocked his head slightly, genuine intrigue showing in his eyes.

"Don't I?" Faith shook her head. 

"No, you don't. It's just that, you've had enough. You've had enough of feeling like this, with all the guilt weighing down on you, all the faces tormenting you; it's more than you can stand. But this isn't the way. You've got to face what you did if you want to go beyond it." King smiled sadly as she moved still nearer, the bowl lowering further from his lips. 

"Face it? For what? What good will come of my redemption? It would never change the things I did."

"Maybe not, but where's the harm in trying? I can tell you now, spending the rest of your immortal life trying to atone for the wrongs you did certainly ranks higher on the karmic ladder than conjuring up an army from hell."

"What reason do I have to atone Faith? You give me one reason I have to live for? Everything I ever loved, everything I ever cared about is dead and dust centuries ago. I have no life Faith, just an existence and fairly pathetic one at that. Even if I were redeemed, there's nothing left worth the effort."

"And what about me?" Faith demanded. "You think I'm not worth the effort, or Angel, or Xander, or God help me even Buffy? You're going to end the world just because you think we're not worth the time? Or is it really about being alone?" She saw his face sadden at that. She'd found it, the thing she'd been looking for, the thing he was afraid of. 

"I know you've lost people," She pressed on, "people who were important to you. I don't know who they were but I know you loved them. But just because they're gone doesn't mean there's nothing left for you! People can still care about you! People do still care about you!" King gave a dry chuckle.

"Who?" he asked, turning to face her. "Who cares about me enough to make my life worth spit?"

"Me." Said Faith. "Haven't you figured that out yet? You think I'd be stood here yakking to you like this when you're about to end the world if I didn't care about you?" Finally she reached him, touching his arm lightly as she did so. 

"We both need to atone." She said quietly and began reaching for the bowl in his hand. "And now, we don't have to do it alone." King sagged visibly, a sense of defeat seeming to flood through him.

"You're right Faith." He said sadly. "We both need to atone." 

Her hand paused mere millimetres from the bowl as she heard his face shift. She looked up into those feral yellow eyes, and was amazed when she could still see the sadness in them. The arm she was touching tensed beneath her fingertips and reached up to catch her by the throat. She gagged as he lifted her off the ground and hurled her aside as if she were nothing more than a rag doll. 

"I'm sorry Faith," He said his voice nothing but genuine, "But this was never about atonement." He lifted the bowl to his lips again. 

"This is about who we are." And before she could stop him, he tilted his head back and swallowed the blood in one gulp. Then the tremors started.

*****

The elevator hurtled up the shaft at such speed Buffy could feel her brain sinking into her feet. She ducked low as Shinji's sword swung for her head. As she hit the deck, she heard the blade bite through one of the elevator cables with a disconcerting metallic whipping noise. The elevator groaned loudly and shuddered to a halt, the emergency brakes locking it in position.  

"Give it up Slayer." Shinji hissed. "My master has had ample time to complete the ritual by now! There's no way your little friend can have stopped him!" Buffy rolled aside as the sword slammed hard against the roof of the elevator in a shower of sparks. She swept her legs around above her as she rolled up for a back spring. The moment she was up again she was forced to lean straight back as the sword lashed out again. 

"You know that toy of yours really is getting on my nerves!" she yelled at him, cart wheeling aside as the sword swept for her legs. "Its hardly fair to bring it to the party and then not share!" Shinji smiled. 

"I always was a selfish little boy." He said, his sword flashing forward, little more than a wailing silver blur as it cut through the air. Buffy dodged expertly aside as the sword moved in. Shinji tried to adjust, but he'd forgotten about the cables. The swords forward thrust halted abruptly as it slid between the inch thick support cables. With a grunt Shinji twisted the blade in an attempt to work it free. Two of the cables ripped apart and lassoed up out of sight. The elevator shuddered slightly as the safety breaks strained to accept the new weight. The shaking sent them both off balance, but Buffy recovered quicker. She leapt forward, grabbing the blade on either side with the flats of her palms and bending it. The steel creaked and finally splintered in two, a shower of sharp metal splinters spilling out through the air. 

Buffy winced as the blade slipped in between her hands and bit deeply into the flesh of her right palm. She let it slip from her grasp to clatter loudly against the elevator roof. 

"My sword!" yelled Shinji. "My sword!"

"Boy, you and King really have a thing for swords don't you." Buffy taunted. "Is it an inadequacy thing or just the opportunity to own something big and shiny?" Shinji turned furious eyes on her. 

"You arrogant little bitch!" he roared with a voice that seemed out of place coming from his small frame. "I'll make you pay for that!" 

"Here we go again." Buffy muttered reaching up to block the punch he'd aimed at her. To her surprise his hand opened into a flat palm, his fingers wrapping around the wrist she'd been using to turn the expected punch aside. With almost no effort, he used the power behind her own block to flip her over onto her back. 

"At last." He hissed, pressing his foot down on her to hold her still. "Even my master could not defeat you, but now I will! I shall prove that I am the truest vampire by doing what he never could! You will die at my teeth Slayer!" his face crumpled into its feeding mode and he ducked low, readying his fangs to tear her throat open. 

That was when the tremors started. The first one hit the elevator like a cannon shot, throwing Shinji off her to slam heavily against the walls of the shaft and causing the elevators emergency brakes to groan loudly. Buffy rolled, grabbing hold of the remaining cables in an attempt to steady herself as she slid back to her feet on the shaking elevator. There was a muffled creaking from one of the safety brakes followed by the sound of it snapping free of the walls as the tremors intensified. The elevator carriage plummeted a good thirty feet straight down. Buffy clung grimly to the cable as they fell. Shinji let out an ear splitting roar as the rough brick wall of the shaft he had been balancing against sliced his back to ribbons as it rushed past. Finally the carriage shuddered to a stop as the remaining emergency break managed to reassert itself. The elevator quivered uncertainly. There was no telling how long it was going to hold for, minutes, or maybe just seconds. Buffy had no intention of hanging around to find out. Hurriedly she grasped the elevator cable as tightly as she could and began to shimmy up it. She didn't get very far. Ice-cold fingers wrapped around her ankle and heaved her clear of the cables, slamming her hard against the elevator. 

"You're not leaving Slayer." He hissed. Buffy sprang back to her feet for what seemed like the hundredth time and backed away from him. She needed to end this, but there was nothing on the elevator she could use as a weapon against him. Even a fall to the bottom of the shaft wouldn't kill him. Then it hit her. Her foot was resting against the piece of his sword she had broken off. 

With a roar Shinji sprang. 

The next few seconds seemed to happen in slow motion for Buffy. As Shinji leapt the tremors suddenly stopped causing him to stumble slightly. As he moved toward her, no longer able to stop, she dipped her toe under the edge of the piece of metal and flicked it up into her hand. She ignored the pain as she grasped it by the blade and swung it out in a wide arc. The blade bit through Shinji's neck as if there were nothing there, neatly severing his head. As the now separate parts of his body turned to dust, the blade continued in its arc slicing neatly through the remaining elevator cable. Buffy reached out and grasped it as it snaked up into the darkness of the shaft and watched as the final emergency brake, no longer able to hold the elevator gave up its one sided fight and buckled. With a final mournful sigh the elevator plummeted into the depths of the shaft. 

*****

Faith watched in horror as King swallowed the blood. The effect was almost instantaneous. The whole room, maybe even the whole building began to shake as it was hit by tremor after tremor. Around them, the blood painted symbols and triangles erupted in flame. Faith had to leap aside to avoid becoming a crispy barbecue snack. She watched, as the air around King seemed to ripple and contort. At first she thought it was just the haze from the fire, but she quickly realised it was nothing so prosaic. It was as if something was pushing from behind, trying desperately to tear its way through from somewhere else, which she realised, was exactly what was happening. King's inner demon, empowered by the mystical energies of the ritual and the inherent strength and power of the Slayers blood, was hammering at the boundaries of reality, trying desperately to break through. It twisted and turned, stretching the fabric of reality to breaking point, and then Faith could see it, or more precisely, she could see its outline. The thing looked hideous, its face twisted and scaly, long spines creasing off its head and lashing at the air as it tore this way and that. 

Then Faith realised there was something wrong. The creature was having too much difficulty. It couldn't break through. Its mouth opened in a silent howl of impotent frustration as the boundary began to harden, pushing it back into King, back into its prison. Then as suddenly as they had began, the tremors stopped and the fires died away. 

King collapsed to his knees as the power of the blood ebbed out of him, its strength and energy spent. Slowly he began to clamber back to his feet. He seemed weakened and disorientated, but it was passing quickly. Slowly his eyes came to rest on her, and she saw something there, something she didn't like. It was intent. Intent she knew all too well. Then it dawned on her what had just happened. There hadn't been enough blood. What they'd had wasn't enough to give the demon the power to break through the barrier. He needed more blood, and she was the most abundant supply in the room!

"No…" she said disbelievingly. "You wouldn't!" King's brow creased with sorrow. 

"I'm sorry Faith." He said, advancing toward her, "I don't have a choice. I want to be with you, to live a good life at your side and see the world the way you see it." There was a long pause. 

"But I can't. No matter how much I try Faith, I can't fool myself and I can't pretend to be something I'm not. I can't pretend to be a good man anymore."

"But you are a good man!" Faith insisted. King shook his head.

"I'm not even a man Faith." He said miserably. "I've been a vampire longer than I was ever a man. It's all I've ever been and all I ever can be. I know what I am, and now I need you to be what you are!" Faith shook her head, suddenly realising what he wanted.

"I won't do it." She said. He was almost on top of her.

"Then I'll make you!" he snarled. His hand lashed out and caught her by the arm. With practically no effort he swung her out across the room, letting her go at the apex of her flight. She hurtled across the suite to slam hard against the partition wall and felt it buckle under her weight. She slumped dazed to the ground and tried to clamber back to her feet. Her legs were barely working.

"Please Faith!" he begged her as he began to walk back toward her again. "Don't make this harder than it already is!" 

"I can't!" she said. "I can't be that again!" King looked at her sadly, his heart seeming to go out to her. 

"You won't." he said finally. "Faith, we each play out the roles that fate gives us. We can't hide from them. Stop hiding Faith!"

"Don't make me!" she yelled at him, her voice breaking, to become little more than a sob. "I can't do it, not to you! Not anymore!" King moved up to her and grabbed her hard, slamming her back against the wall again. His hand snaked down and pressed into the still painful wound Shinji had given her. Her scream of agony was ear piercing as his fingers dug deeply into her side. 

"DO IT!" He roared at her, his voice full of desperation. "DO IT FAITH! DO WHAT YOU WERE BORN FOR!" 

"NO!" Faith screamed back at him through the sea of tears that stained her cheeks. "I'M NOT STRONG ENOUGH!" He hauled her out into the middle of the room, back to the centre triangle. His hand snaked up and grasped a handful of her hair, pulling her head up straight so that he could reach her neck easier. He spun her round so she had her back to him and leaned in close to her face. 

"Listen to me Faith." He whispered in her ear as she wept. He reached up and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "No more tears. I need you to be strong. I need you to do this. The world isn't safe while I'm in it." He reached down and grasped her arm tightly at the bicep. She felt a lone tear from his eyes drop down into her hair. 

"You've got nothing to be afraid of Faith. You know what you are." She felt him lean in close, felt his breath on her neck. She closed her eyes and squeezed the last tears out of them. With a cry of sorrow and anger at the world and the man who would make her do this, she ripped her head free of his hand, feeling hair tear away as she moved. She stepped out away from him, twisting in his vice like grip to face him. She felt her skin burn under the friction but she ignored it. She ignored everything as she pulled her third and final stake free. It slipped comfortably into her hand and she brought it up. For a moment her arm hovered in the air.

Then she brought the stake down…

…And plunged it into King's heart. He made no noise as the stake slid into him, just watched her silently. Slowly he tumbled back to the ground, the stake sticking up out of his chest. Faith fell to her knees alongside him, cradling his head in her arms. 

"I…" she began, but the words stuck in her throat. He smiled sadly at her one last time. 

"Th…" he began, swallowed hard as if it took great effort to say, and began again. "Thank you." He said. Then it was as if he just stopped trying to live anymore. His body relaxed in her arms, and crumbled gently away as if it had never been. 

Faith sat there for a long time crying silently, her tears settling gently in the dust. 


	19. Aftermath

Chapter Eighteen 

**Aftermath**

Buffy unwound the bandages gingerly from her arms, trying her best not to wince at the stinging pain she received. Her arms were healing nicely, the long cuts still needed a bit of time, but it wouldn't be long before she didn't have to wear the bandages at all.

She reached for a fresh role of bandages and began to rewrap her arms. It had been two days since they'd escaped from Wolfram & Hart, and if getting in was hard, getting out was almost impossible. She'd dangled in the elevator shaft for a good fifteen minutes, trying to come up with a way out. In the end she'd simply leapt to an adjoining cable for the second elevator and slid all the way back to down to the sixteenth floor. Lucky for her that someone had obligingly left the shaft doors open. She'd had no idea of what to do otherwise. 

The sixteenth floor had been empty when she got there, but that didn't mean it had been empty all along. She'd found Faith knelt on the floor of the executive suite, surrounded by scorched marks that had originally been blood. A fine settling of dust had covered the floor in front of her. There was no sign of King. It didn't take a rocket scientist to work out what had happened in that room, and for the first time in years, Buffy actually felt a twinge of pity for Faith, along with, dare she admit it, the slightest hint of pride. The girl had come through for them and God knew they needed it back there.

Together the two of them had clambered down the cables, back to the ground floor, where the fighting was still continuing apace. They'd fought their way back through the vampires picking up the others as they left and fleeing back to the cars. For the rest of the night they'd been assaulted by a number of vamps at the hotel. Some of Shinji's more passionate followers had decided it was better to try and martyr themselves to the cause than go on without a master. But after that the attacks had stopped. According to Lorn, Angel's green skinned, karaoke bar owning confidant, the word on the street was that the remains of the vampire army lead by Shinji were being cleared up by Wolfram & Hart. It seemed the devils own law firm hated to leave loose ends lying about. And that had left them with some time to catch some serious R&R. Buffy had to admit she was glad. The last few days had been exhausting. Being kidnapped by a maniac vampire and his own self bred army; being slowly bled dry and then fighting a kick ass duel on top of a falling elevator would take its toll on anyone, including the Slayer. But she had the feeling her problems weren't the most important right now. 

"Where's Faith?" said Angel, slipping onto the couch alongside her. Buffy shrugged. 

"Take one guess." She said. 

"She's still in her room?" said Angel, frowning. Buffy nodded.

"Hasn't been out all day." After the first night back at the hotel, Faith had vanished up into the room Angel had given her when she was released from prison, only leaving it to get food and drink, before disappearing back inside.

"Buffy?" Angel's voice was questioning.

"Yeah?" Buffy replied absently as she finished wrapping one of her arms.

"Is this what it was like for you after…" his voice died gradually away. He didn't need to finish. They both knew exactly what he was talking about. Buffy thought about it long and hard. 

"I'm not sure." She said finally. In truth, she'd been trying not to think about it at all. Her memories of killing Angel to stop the awakening of the Demon Akathla were some of her most painful, and she didn't like to think about them at the best of times. Angel gave a sigh.

"She should talk to someone." He said finally. "I mean this isn't healthy, right? She should get all her feelings out in the open, right?" Buffy gave a nod of affirmative. She remembered when she had killed Angel how hard it had been for her. Maybe it would have been much easier if she'd just talked about it with someone. No, scratch the maybe. It would have been much easier. Angel gave a sigh. 

"I'd best go up there." He said, easing himself out of the couch and walking toward the stairs. Buffy sat for a moment, lost in thought. 

"Angel wait." She said eventually. He turned and looked at her questioningly.

"I'll talk to her." She said. Angel smiled and nodded. 

"Now that," he said as she walked past him, "is a much better idea."

Faith's door wasn't locked. That alone surprised Buffy, but what she saw beyond surprised her even more. The girl had been beating the hell out of her room! Roughly fist shaped holes had been punched through the thin plaster walls and a lamp had been hurled hard against the mirror over the sink in the bathroom. She could see the shards of the mirror that had been left strewn across the floor. It looked as if a whirlwind of fury had swept through the room; destroying anything it didn't like to see. Faith was lying on the bed, her arm drawn up over her eyes, her breathing steady and shallow. 

"Faith?" Buffy said quietly, testing to see if the girl was awake. 

"What is it?" Faith said. Her voice sounded hollow, empty and cracked, as if someone had drained the life out of her. 

"I just wanted to check on you." Buffy said slowly. She couldn't think of anything to say. 

"I like what you've done with the place." She said finally. Faith gave a soft chuckle.

"Still got the sense of humour, eh B?" She sat up, her arm falling away. Buffy was taken aback. The other girls face was a mess. Two day old eye shadow was smudged from countless hours spent crying and even Faith's heavy handed approach to mascara couldn't hide the red rimmed swollen eyes and exhausted looking hang dog expression. She could tell Faith hadn't been sleeping. 

"My God Faith…" Buffy said, practically at a loss for words. Faith glared at her.

"What's the matter? Upset I don't look worse? Glad I finally got mine?" Buffy stared at her in horror.

"What… of course not!" 

"Then why are you here Buffy? We both know how you feel about me, and I'm not in the mood to dance around it all night long." 

"I came here to talk." Buffy said. "Not to gloat." Faith leaned back tiredly against the wall. 

"Okay then B. You wanna talk, let's talk. What do you want to say?" Buffy swallowed. Her throat suddenly felt very dry. What did she want to say? What could she say that wouldn't sound empty or half hearted? That wasn't what Faith needed right now, and Buffy was surprised when she found herself actually caring about that.

"I just wanted to say…" she trailed off before beginning again. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm not sorry King's dead. He was a vampire and a killer and the world is better off without him." Faith just glared at her. 

"You get to leave now." She said, beginning to clamber off the bed. 

"Would you just wait a second and let me finish? After all the things you've done to me over the years, I think you at least owe me that." Faith stood in front of her, arms folded, large brown eyes burrowing into her.

"Go on then." She said finally.

"Like I said, I'm not sorry King's dead, but" she said as Faith rolled her eyes, "I am…" she paused, trying to dredge the words up from the depths of her heart. Apologising to Faith was never something she thought she'd find herself doing.

"I'm sorry you had to be the one to kill him." She blurted it out unexpectedly, as if her mouth had just had enough of all the pussyfooting around. Faith just stared at her for a long time, her face inscrutable. Then she saw it, something glistening at the corners of Faith's eyes. Tears. Real tears! She couldn't believe it. Faith was crying! She watched, awestruck as the other girl collapsed to her knees, sobbing like a baby. 

"I… killed… him!" she managed to get out from between choked sobs. "I killed him Buffy! I killed him!" Tentatively and unsure of herself, Buffy knelt down alongside her. Not really sure how Faith would react, she reached out and gently stroked the other girls matted hair away from her face. Faith's reaction was definitely the last thing she expected. The other girl flung her arms around Buffy and wept harder. She clung to her like she was her lifeline, like she was the only thing keeping her from falling entirely into despair. 

"I killed him Buffy!" she sobbed again. "I killed him!" Slowly, Buffy reached up and patted the back of Faith's head, rocking her back and forth and cooing softly in her ear as she would a child.

"Shhh." She whispered softly. "Shhh. No more tears. You did your duty. You did what you had to." 

"My duty?" Faith sniffed. "What I was born for?" Buffy nodded, still stroking Faith's hair.

"Yeah." She said softly. "What you were born for."

*****

The warehouse was dark, just like Faith remembered, dark and surprisingly cold. She shivered slightly as she tramped up the stairs, wrapping her coat more tightly around herself. She was amazed at how much the feel of the place had changed. No longer was there an eerie sadness hanging over everything. Now there was just a calm silence that approached perfect serenity. It was surprisingly soothing. She moved through the small office rooms until she finally reached the one where she had first met King. 

The ancient Egyptian pieces glistened softly in the moonlight like some strange museum display. She couldn't believe they were still here. She really ought to report them to the police so they could be taken away to their rightful owners. Rightful owners. She chuckled softly at that thought. Who did these more rightly belong to than King? They were from his time, the legacy of his people. She glanced from one to the next and as she looked at them, she thought about him. She thought about everything she'd known of him, his strength, his resolve, his courage and his tragedy. 

God she missed him. At least if he'd been here, this whole redemption thing might have been a bit more bearable. She sighed softly. That wasn't the point. Redemption wasn't meant to be easy. If it were everyone would do it. What was it Angel had once said? That it was supposed to hurt? He'd been right about that. It hurt like hell. 

She smiled softly. It didn't matter how much it hurt any more. She could hack it. She had to, because she wasn't just redeeming herself anymore. She was working for his redemption too. From this day out, everything she did, she would do for him as well as for her, a way of saying thanks. Thanks for the strength he'd helped her find. 

Slowly she made her way across to the back of the room, to the shattered window he'd jumped out of with her cradled in his arms. She looked up at the stars shining overhead, for a brief moment offering them silent thanks, before turning and walking away. 

"Now I'm strong enough," She said aloud to the empty room, "and I know who I am." Then almost imperceptibly she whispered,

"Spread your wings."


	20. Epilogue: Slayer

Epilogue 

**Slayer**

The base beat thundered out of the club's speaker system and pulsed energetically across the dance floor as hundreds of people danced to the steady rhythm. It was heaving in here tonight and Brim loved it! So many people meant plenty of girls and plenty of girls meant plenty of chances for a guy like him! This girl dancing with him was a prime example. She was a brunette for one, something he'd always gone for. To him blondes were merely ditzy airheads, more concerned with how many drinks they could scam out of a guy before they bled him dry. Oh, that didn't mean he didn't enjoy bleeding them dry on occasion. Blonde blood had far more pep to it than that of a brunette. It was kind of like sucking on a strawberry Push Pop when you drank from a blonde, where as when you drank from a brunette… Oh boy, now that took some appreciation. 

Yes, Jack Brim was a vampire, had been for a couple of years now and he absolutely loved it! Oh at first he hadn't quite been able to get the hang of it. He'd forgotten a couple of times that he was officially dead and that therefore, he didn't have to go to work. He'd nearly fried twice, waking up in the morning and getting ready to drive into work simply as a result of him being unable to shed the human mindset. It had taken him a month to get used to sleeping through the day and moving about at night for God's sake. But in the end he had got used to it and the more he experimented with it, the more he enjoyed himself. He could party all night, suck on the necks of beautiful women as a way of life and best of all, no one was in anyway equipped to deal with him! That had shocked the hell out of him when he'd found out just how much he went beyond normal human strength. It had been when some meathead had jumped him outside a club one night for hitting on his girlfriend. The guy had been twice Brim's size but Brim had lifted him like he weighed no more than a child and throne him like a pro quarterback. He could do whatever he wanted and never have to face the consequences. In all his buttoned down, blue collar life as a human, he'd never once thought his wildest dreams could come true, that he could do whatever he wanted without having to worry about recrimination. It kicked ass! 

This brunette though! God she knew what she was about. She knew exactly how to move, exactly how to sway to get him going. The way her hips rolled, her lips pouted and the games she played with him with her eyes! He didn't think he'd been this randy in a long time. He was tempted to try his luck and sleep with her before he bled her. Their blood always tasted better after sex, probably something to do with the energy involved.  

The music changed tempo to something slower. The girl smiled at him coquettishly. She'd told him her name but he hadn't really been listening. What did it matter what the chicks name was? All that mattered was when he got to eat her. He had the feeling this one was going to taste gorgeous. She slid her arms up around his neck and pulled him in close. He kissed her hungrily. She pushed him away fairly quickly, her finger wagging at him with mock scolding. She was playing with him! He loved it! She could play with him as much as she wanted, but it would be him who had the last laugh in this little game. After all, he had a game face that no one expected. 

"C'mon." she whispered in his ear. "Let's get out of here." If his heart could still beat it would have been doing back flips by now. A sly grin split his face as they slipped along the dance floor, weaving through the crowd as if it didn't exist. He never saw a third figure move away from the bar and follow them. 

Outside, a dull neon tube light advertising the club's name flickered sporadically on an off, bathing the alley in soft pink light one second and plunging it into darkness the next. The brunette led him down the alley into the shadows away from the crowd. He kicked aside a Coke can as he moved. It clattered noisily off the walls and came to rest by a nearby dumpster. He smiled slightly. That would be a good place to hide the body. It wouldn't be found for a day or two at least. The girl turned and leaned up against the wall, beckoning invitingly to him. 

"Let's see what you can do then handsome." She said mischievously. Brim strode confidently over the tarmac, smiling at her as he went. 

"Oh I can do all sorts of things." He said, the smile never leaving his face. "I do this really cool role-play thing."

"Oh really." Said the brunette, her eyebrows rising in interest. "What do we pretend?" 

"Well…" he began, his arms bracing against the wall, blocking her in between them. "I play at being this scary monster, and you pretend you're really scared and try to run, but you can't get away." 

"Doesn't sound like much fun to me." The girl pouted. Brim chuckled.

"What can I say," he said as his face rippled, his brow slumping and protruding more, his teeth lengthening and his eyes glowing a feral yellow colour, "It's how I get my kicks." The girl opened her mouth to scream but his hand shot out and clapped down hard over it, muffling the sound. 

"Don't struggle babe." He said soothingly. "I'll make it quick, I promise." With a low, hungry snarl he ducked in low for her throat. 

Suddenly he felt strong hands on his shoulders tugging him roughly off the girl and throwing him hard against a wall at the other side of the alley. His head banged hard against the cold stone, and he snarled as his vision span dizzyingly. When it finally cleared another girl was standing in front of him, and she was a brunette as well. She was wearing a pair of tight fitting leather pants, a cheap looking imitation leopard skin halter top, and seemed to have applied her mascara with the business end of a trowel. 

"You know, rushing in like that kind of disappoints a girl." The stranger said cockily. Brim frowned, although it was hard to pick up on when he was wearing his game face.

"I can pace myself." He retorted, and without warning, threw himself at the girl with a loud snarl. The girl moved like nothing he had ever seen. She ducked his right hook and stuck her leg out, craftily tripping him and causing him to stumble head first into a nearby wall. Shaking his head to dispel the double vision he suddenly seemed to have acquired he whirled back to face her. The girl was examining her fingernails! How could she be so blasé about him? Something wasn't right, but he wasn't going to leave her alive to find out. He approached her a little more cautiously the second time around. She was surprisingly small. Surely she couldn't be as strong as she had seemed a minute ago. It just wasn't natural. He took a tentative swipe, and the girl dodged aside as if he'd barely moved. With a grunt he swung for her again, and once more his fist met nothing but air. 

"This is really getting old." The girl said sounding almost bored. "At least try and make a go of it." With a growl of impotent fury he swung as hard as he could for her grinning face. The girl dipped and slipped inside his guard, reaching up and grabbing his outstretched arm. She swung him around with a strength he couldn't imagine any ordinary person, let alone one as seemingly slight as this girl, possibly possessing. She let go sending him careening headlong into a pile of trashcans. Groggily he clambered back to his feet and turned to face her, his eyes widening as the girl slipped something into her hand. It was a wooden stake. He frowned. Was that a tattoo of a black bladed sword on her forearm?

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded, his voice filled with worry as the girl advanced toward him. She cocked her head and grinned devilishly.

"Didn't I tell you?" her smile widened. 

"I'm Faith." She said. "The Vampire Slayer."


	21. Acknowledgments & Thanks

Acknowledgements & Thanks 

Welcome to the bit where I sit down and type a list of thanks to all the people I can think of who have supported these stories over the last two years that I've been writing them. If you get bored there'll be a bit at the end where I'm posing a question for everyone who enjoyed this little trilogy (Inner Light, Odium and finally Triumvirate) of mine, but first comes the obligatory disclaimer.

DISCLAIMER: Should be fairly obvious by now. I don't own any of the characters who have appeared in the TV shows of BTVS or ANGEL and I can only envy those who did create them (especially Faith and Spike, I've been wanting to write stories with them in from day one, but I had to wait for a decent opportunity to include them in the plots. Spike got a little short changed here, but for those of you who read Triumvirate, Faith definitely got what I feel she deserves in terms of storyline treatment). I'm just playing with them and promise I'll give them back (relatively) undamaged when I'm done with them. As for the other characters, well they're mine, but I don't know whether or not that's something I should be proud of. 

With that over with, it's on to the thanks. 

First up, thanks must go to Dana at the SFA mailing list, for having the time and patience to wade through these things and tell me what she thought. It has been much appreciated.

Special thanks must also go to Jess, also known as Happy Hippy Land and Majin Gojira over at fanfic.net for their enthusiastic support of Triumvirate. Jess is probably hurling curses at me right now for what I did with the story, so all I can say about that is… sorry. 

Thanks must also go to these people, who, whether or not they gave me feedback, I do know at least read some of my story and if I know they're doing that then it makes my writing all the more worth while. So here goes.

Thanks to:

- Amelia

- Malaskor

- Harriet

- Bolo 

- Booster

- Isabelle Montgomery

- Marie

- Heidi Doenig

- Louie Pastiche

- Papa Wheelie

- Akraen

- Jenny

- Gyrlfrend

- Diana

- James

- Sarah Pizar

- MagicGurl 

- Erica LaForte

- Rianne

- Cori A Lacy

- Evet

- TimandaWertz

- Kate Hill

I think that should cover just about everyone. If I missed you then I'm sorry. Next time I do one of these things you'll be in it.

AND FINALLY

This is a question to anyone who has enjoyed these stories of mine. Do you want the story to continue? Just because King is dead and this trilogy is at an end doesn't mean the story can't continue. There are a hell of a lot of other aspects to these stories that could be explored and I'd loved to hear from anyone with ideas as to how this could be done. I've really enjoyed writing these stories and really do want to return to this little alternate universe I've come up with here at some point. It'll just be easier if when I do, I know what I'm doing. If on the other hand you think these stories blow, then it goes without saying, don't write to me : )

Anyway, everyone who's still reading at this point (I know that won't be many of you), thanks for listening to me ramble in a bad Oscar Speech kind of way, and I'll be back with something fresh, once I've managed to calm down from writing this stuff. So as, the tears fill my eyes and I feel the painful lump welling up in my throat (damn that piece of haddock) I wish you all goodbye for now.


End file.
